A Finite Element Model for Stochastic Set Operation in Phase-Change Memory

Abstract

We successfully combined electrothermal and phase-field models in a finite element framework to establish a device model for set operation in phase-change memory. The electrothermal model calculates current density, Joule heating and heat transfer, and the resulting temperature profile from bias conditions while the phase-field model calculates thermal history dependent phase-change such as melt-quench and stochastic nucleation followed by growth. In this work, we will discuss capabilities of our model and its applications to set pulse design and intrinsic variability analysis.