Abstract

Among the alternative technologies, phase-change memory (PCM) and other resistive random-access memory technologies are seen as the most promising candidates for future storage-class memory. Samsung has announced 8 GB PCM chips on 20 nm technology node and introduced PCM to the mobile phone market. The operation of PCM is based on the reversible phase transition of a material between the resistive amorphous and conductive crystalline states through self-heating. The phase-change materials used in PCM cells dynamically transition between the amorphous, nanocrystalline, and polycrystalline phases. This chapter describes the electrothermal models for PCM devices and presents example simulations using these models that illustrate the critical dependences on varying material parameters such as electrical resistivity and the role of thermoelectric effects in the heating distribution within the nanoscale structures. The electrothermal transport within the PCM element is modeled by solving the continuity and heat transfer equations self-consistently including thermoelectric effects.

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