An overview of phase-change memory device physics

Phase-change memory (PCM) is an emerging non-volatile memory technology that has recently been commercialized as storage-class memory in a computer system. PCM is also being explored for non-von Neumann computing such as in-memory computing and neuromorphic computing. Although the device physics rel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of physics. D, Applied physics Vol. 53; no. 21; pp. 213002 - 213028
Main Authors Le Gallo, Manuel, Sebastian, Abu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IOP Publishing 20.05.2020
Subjects
device physics
non-volatile memory
phase-change memory
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Summary:Phase-change memory (PCM) is an emerging non-volatile memory technology that has recently been commercialized as storage-class memory in a computer system. PCM is also being explored for non-von Neumann computing such as in-memory computing and neuromorphic computing. Although the device physics related to the operation of PCM have been widely studied since its discovery in the 1960s, there are still several open questions relating to their electrical, thermal, and structural dynamics. In this article, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the main PCM device physics that underlie the read and write operations. We present both experimental characterization of the various properties investigated in nanoscale PCM devices as well as physics-based modeling efforts. Finally, we provide an outlook on some remaining open questions and possible future research directions.
Bibliography:JPhysD-123155.R1
ISSN:0022-3727
1361-6463
DOI:10.1088/1361-6463/ab7794