Three-Dimensional Simulations of RESET Operation in Phase-Change Random Access Memory with Blade-Type Like Phase Change Layer by Finite Element Modeling**Supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant No XDA09020402, the National Integrate Circuit Research Program of China under Grant No 2009ZX02023-003, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61261160500, 61376006,

Abstract

An optimized device structure for reducing the RESET current of phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) with blade-type like (BTL) phase change layer is proposed. The electrical thermal analysis of the BTL cell and the blade heater contactor structure by three-dimensional finite element modeling are compared with each other during RESET operation. The simulation results show that the programming region of the phase change layer in the BTL cell is much smaller, and thermal electrical distributions of the BTL cell are more concentrated on the TiN/GST interface. The results indicate that the BTL cell has the superiorities of increasing the heating efficiency, decreasing the power consumption and reducing the RESET current from 0.67 mA to 0.32 mA. Therefore, the BTL cell will be appropriate for high performance PCRAM device with lower power consumption and lower RESET current.