The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78249, United States of America.
Nanotechnology. 2019 Dec 6;30(49):495202. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab4079. Epub 2019 Sep 2.
PCM (phase-change memory) is an important class of data storage, operating based on the Joule heating-induced reversible switching of chalcogenide alloys. Nanoscale PCM often requires advanced microfabrication techniques such as dry (plasma) etching, but the possible impacts of process damages or imperfections on the device performance still remain relatively unexplored. This is critical because some chemical etching species are known to cause over-etching with rough edge onto the sidewall of a phase-change material. It is also possible that the phase-change material experiences a composition change due to etching-induced re-deposition of by-products or thermal stress. In this study, a finite-element simulation is performed to understand the effect of dry etching on the RESET characteristics of a nanoscale PCM device to provide a guideline on the PCM manufacturing and cell design.
相变存储器（PCM）是一类重要的数据存储技术，其基于热诱导的硫属相变材料的可逆相变来实现数据存储。纳米级的 PCM 通常需要先进的微纳加工技术，如干法（等离子体）刻蚀，但加工损伤或不完美对器件性能的潜在影响仍相对未知。这是至关重要的，因为一些化学刻蚀剂会导致相变材料的侧壁发生过刻蚀，从而产生粗糙的边缘。此外，由于刻蚀诱导的副产物再沉积或热应力，相变材料也可能经历成分变化。在这项研究中，通过有限元模拟来理解干法刻蚀对纳米级 PCM 器件的重置特性的影响，为 PCM 的制造和单元设计提供指导。
