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Updated: Oct 4, 2025
06:26
Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
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Impact of solid-liquid interfacial thermodynamics on phase-change memory RESET scaling
Matthew Lewis1, Lucien N Brush1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States of America.
Nanotechnology
|February 2, 2022
Summary
The Gibbs-Thomson effect in phase-change memory (PCM) devices increases the melting temperature, requiring higher voltage and current for the RESET process, especially in nanoscale devices (<20 nm). This impacts PCM design for improved performance.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Computational Physics
Background:
- Phase-change memory (PCM) relies on melting and recrystallization.
- Conventional models often simplify interfacial thermodynamics.
- The Gibbs-Thomson (GT) effect influences solid-liquid interfaces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the RESET melting process in PCM devices including the GT effect.
- To compare GT model predictions with conventional models.
- To analyze the impact of GT effect on RESET voltage and current requirements.
Main Methods:
- Developed an electro-thermal model incorporating the GT effect as an interfacial condition.
- Computed steady-state solutions for dome-shaped liquid regions.
- Calculated melting limits to determine minimum RESET voltage and current.
Main Results:
- The GT effect elevates the solid-liquid interface temperature above the bulk melting point during melting.
- This elevation increases the required RESET voltage and current.
- The impact is significant for devices with active dimensions below 20 nm.
Conclusions:
- The GT effect is crucial for accurate modeling of nanoscale PCM devices.
- Device scaling necessitates accounting for interfacial phenomena to predict RESET behavior.
- Findings inform the design of next-generation PCM technology.
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