Issue 10, 2019

Phase change thin films for non-volatile memory applications

Abstract

The rapid development of Internet of Things devices requires real time processing of a huge amount of digital data, creating a new demand for computing technology. Phase change memory technology based on chalcogenide phase change materials meets many requirements of the emerging memory applications since it is fast, scalable and non-volatile. In addition, phase change memory offers multilevel data storage and can be applied both in neuro-inspired and all-photonic in-memory computing. Furthermore, phase change alloys represent an outstanding class of functional materials having a tremendous variety of industrially relevant characteristics and exceptional material properties. Many efforts have been devoted to understanding these properties with the particular aim to design universal memory. This paper reviews materials science aspects of chalcogenide-based phase change thin films relevant for non-volatile memory applications. Particular emphasis is put on local structure, control of disorder and its impact on material properties, order–disorder transitions and interfacial transformations.

Graphical abstract: Phase change thin films for non-volatile memory applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
11 Jun 2019
Accepted
17 Sep 2019
First published
18 Sep 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2019,1, 3836-3857

Phase change thin films for non-volatile memory applications

A. Lotnyk, M. Behrens and B. Rauschenbach, Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 3836 DOI: 10.1039/C9NA00366E

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