IBM Research-Zurich, Rüschlikon, Switzerland.
RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Nat Mater. 2018 Aug;17(8):681-685. doi: 10.1038/s41563-018-0110-9. Epub 2018 Jun 18.
Phase change memory has been developed into a mature technology capable of storing information in a fast and non-volatile way, with potential for neuromorphic computing applications. However, its future impact in electronics depends crucially on how the materials at the core of this technology adapt to the requirements arising from continued scaling towards higher device densities. A common strategy to fine-tune the properties of phase change memory materials, reaching reasonable thermal stability in optical data storage, relies on mixing precise amounts of different dopants, resulting often in quaternary or even more complicated compounds. Here we show how the simplest material imaginable, a single element (in this case, antimony), can become a valid alternative when confined in extremely small volumes. This compositional simplification eliminates problems related to unwanted deviations from the optimized stoichiometry in the switching volume, which become increasingly pressing when devices are aggressively miniaturized. Removing compositional optimization issues may allow one to capitalize on nanosize effects in information storage.
相变存储器已经发展成为一种成熟的技术，能够以快速和非易失性的方式存储信息，具有神经形态计算应用的潜力。然而，它在电子学领域的未来影响在很大程度上取决于这项技术核心的材料如何适应不断向更高器件密度扩展所带来的要求。微调相变存储器材料性能的一种常见策略是精确混合不同掺杂剂的数量，这通常会导致形成四元甚至更复杂的化合物。在这里，我们展示了一种最简单的材料（在这种情况下是锑），当被限制在极小的体积中时，如何成为一种可行的替代方案。这种组成简化消除了与开关体积中偏离优化化学计量比相关的问题，当器件被强烈微型化时，这些问题会变得越来越紧迫。消除组成优化问题可能会使人们能够利用纳米尺寸效应来存储信息。
