Direct observation of nanometer-scale Joule and Peltier effects in phase change memory devices

Kyle L. Grosse; Feng Xiong; Sungduk Hong; William P. King; Eric Pop

doi:10.1063/1.4803172

Direct observation of nanometer-scale Joule and Peltier effects in phase change memory devices

Kyle L. Grosse, Feng Xiong, Sungduk Hong, William P. King, Eric Pop

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We measure power dissipation in phase change memory (PCM) devices by scanning Joule expansion microscopy (SJEM) with ∼50 nm spatial and 0.2 K temperature resolution. The temperature rise in the Ge₂Sb ₂Te₅ (GST) is dominated by Joule heating, but at the GST-TiW contacts it is a combination of Peltier and current crowding effects. Comparison of SJEM and electrical measurements with simulations of the PCM devices uncovers a thermopower of ∼350 μV K^-1 and a contact resistance of ∼2.0 × 10^-8 Ω m² (to TiW) for 25 nm thick films of face centered-cubic crystalline GST. Knowledge of such nanometer-scale Joule, Peltier, and current crowding effects is essential for energy-efficient design of future PCM technology.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	193503
Journal	Applied Physics Letters
Volume	102
Issue number	19
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4803172
State	Published - May 13 2013

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Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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10.1063/1.4803172

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title = "Direct observation of nanometer-scale Joule and Peltier effects in phase change memory devices",

abstract = "We measure power dissipation in phase change memory (PCM) devices by scanning Joule expansion microscopy (SJEM) with ∼50 nm spatial and 0.2 K temperature resolution. The temperature rise in the Ge2Sb 2Te5 (GST) is dominated by Joule heating, but at the GST-TiW contacts it is a combination of Peltier and current crowding effects. Comparison of SJEM and electrical measurements with simulations of the PCM devices uncovers a thermopower of ∼350 μV K-1 and a contact resistance of ∼2.0 × 10-8 Ω m2 (to TiW) for 25 nm thick films of face centered-cubic crystalline GST. Knowledge of such nanometer-scale Joule, Peltier, and current crowding effects is essential for energy-efficient design of future PCM technology.",

author = "Grosse, {Kyle L.} and Feng Xiong and Sungduk Hong and King, {William P.} and Eric Pop",

note = "Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the help of S. Ozerinc, F. Lian, and M. Sardela. This work was in part supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant No. ECCS 10-02026, and by the Materials Structures and Devices (MSD) Focus Center, under the Focus Center Research Program (FCRP), a Semiconductor Research Corporation entity. S.H. acknowledges support from a Samsung Fellowship. ",

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doi = "10.1063/1.4803172",

language = "English (US)",

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journal = "Applied Physics Letters",

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AU - Grosse, Kyle L.

AU - Xiong, Feng

AU - Hong, Sungduk

AU - King, William P.

AU - Pop, Eric

N1 - Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the help of S. Ozerinc, F. Lian, and M. Sardela. This work was in part supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant No. ECCS 10-02026, and by the Materials Structures and Devices (MSD) Focus Center, under the Focus Center Research Program (FCRP), a Semiconductor Research Corporation entity. S.H. acknowledges support from a Samsung Fellowship.

PY - 2013/5/13

Y1 - 2013/5/13

N2 - We measure power dissipation in phase change memory (PCM) devices by scanning Joule expansion microscopy (SJEM) with ∼50 nm spatial and 0.2 K temperature resolution. The temperature rise in the Ge2Sb 2Te5 (GST) is dominated by Joule heating, but at the GST-TiW contacts it is a combination of Peltier and current crowding effects. Comparison of SJEM and electrical measurements with simulations of the PCM devices uncovers a thermopower of ∼350 μV K-1 and a contact resistance of ∼2.0 × 10-8 Ω m2 (to TiW) for 25 nm thick films of face centered-cubic crystalline GST. Knowledge of such nanometer-scale Joule, Peltier, and current crowding effects is essential for energy-efficient design of future PCM technology.

AB - We measure power dissipation in phase change memory (PCM) devices by scanning Joule expansion microscopy (SJEM) with ∼50 nm spatial and 0.2 K temperature resolution. The temperature rise in the Ge2Sb 2Te5 (GST) is dominated by Joule heating, but at the GST-TiW contacts it is a combination of Peltier and current crowding effects. Comparison of SJEM and electrical measurements with simulations of the PCM devices uncovers a thermopower of ∼350 μV K-1 and a contact resistance of ∼2.0 × 10-8 Ω m2 (to TiW) for 25 nm thick films of face centered-cubic crystalline GST. Knowledge of such nanometer-scale Joule, Peltier, and current crowding effects is essential for energy-efficient design of future PCM technology.

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Direct observation of nanometer-scale Joule and Peltier effects in phase change memory devices

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