TY - JOUR
T1 - Pressure tunes electrical resistivity by four orders of magnitude in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change memory alloy
AU - Xu, M.
AU - Cheng, Y. Q.
AU - Wang, L.
AU - Sheng, H. W.
AU - Meng, Y.
AU - Yang, W. G.
AU - Han, X. D.
AU - Ma, E.
PY - 2012/5/1
Y1 - 2012/5/1
N2 - Ge-Sb-Te-based phase-change memory is one of the most promising candidates to succeed the current flash memories. The application of phase-change materials for data storage and memory devices takes advantage of the fast phase transition (on the order of nanoseconds) and the large property contrasts (e.g., several orders of magnitude difference in electrical resistivity) between the amorphous and the crystalline states. Despite the importance of Ge-Sb-Te alloys and the intense research they have received, the possible phases in the temperature-pressure diagram, as well as the corresponding structure-property correlations, remain to be systematically explored. In this study, by subjecting the amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 (a-GST) to hydrostatic-like pressure (P), the thermodynamic variable alternative to temperature, we are able to tune its electrical resistivity by several orders of magnitude, similar to the resistivity contrast corresponding to the usually investigated amorphous-to-crystalline (a-GST to rock-salt GST) transition used in current phase-change memories. In particular, the electrical resistivity drops precipitously in the P = 0 to 8 GPa regime. A prominent structural signature representing the underlying evolution in atomic arrangements and bonding in this pressure regime, as revealed by the ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, is the reduction of low-electron-density regions, which contributes to the narrowing of band gap and delocalization of trapped electrons. At P > 8 GPa, we have observed major changes of the average local structures (bond angle and coordination numbers), gradually transforming the a-GST into a high-density, metallic-like state. This high-pressure glass is characterized by local motifs that bear similarities to the body-centered-cubic GST (bcc-GST) it eventually crystallizes into at 28 GPa, and hence represents a bcc-type polyamorph of a-GST.
AB - Ge-Sb-Te-based phase-change memory is one of the most promising candidates to succeed the current flash memories. The application of phase-change materials for data storage and memory devices takes advantage of the fast phase transition (on the order of nanoseconds) and the large property contrasts (e.g., several orders of magnitude difference in electrical resistivity) between the amorphous and the crystalline states. Despite the importance of Ge-Sb-Te alloys and the intense research they have received, the possible phases in the temperature-pressure diagram, as well as the corresponding structure-property correlations, remain to be systematically explored. In this study, by subjecting the amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 (a-GST) to hydrostatic-like pressure (P), the thermodynamic variable alternative to temperature, we are able to tune its electrical resistivity by several orders of magnitude, similar to the resistivity contrast corresponding to the usually investigated amorphous-to-crystalline (a-GST to rock-salt GST) transition used in current phase-change memories. In particular, the electrical resistivity drops precipitously in the P = 0 to 8 GPa regime. A prominent structural signature representing the underlying evolution in atomic arrangements and bonding in this pressure regime, as revealed by the ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, is the reduction of low-electron-density regions, which contributes to the narrowing of band gap and delocalization of trapped electrons. At P > 8 GPa, we have observed major changes of the average local structures (bond angle and coordination numbers), gradually transforming the a-GST into a high-density, metallic-like state. This high-pressure glass is characterized by local motifs that bear similarities to the body-centered-cubic GST (bcc-GST) it eventually crystallizes into at 28 GPa, and hence represents a bcc-type polyamorph of a-GST.
KW - Atomic-level structure
KW - Chalcogenide glass
KW - Electrical property
KW - Pressure effects
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84860792945&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1119754109
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1119754109
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84860792945
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 109
SP - E1055-E1062
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 18
ER -