Electrical Wind Force–Driven and Dislocation-Templated Amorphization in Phase-Change Nanowires

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1220119
• Publication Date: 2012-06-21T23:53:18Z
• Authors: Sung-Wook Nam; Hee-Suk Chung; Yu Chieh Lo; Liang Qi; Ju Li; Ye Lu; A.T. Charlie Johnson; Yeonwoong Jung; Pavan Nukala; Ritesh Agarwal
• Keywords: R-Phase; Crystal (programming language)

Phase-change materials undergo rapid and reversible crystalline-to-amorphous structural transformation are being used for nonvolatile memory devices. However, the mechanism remains poorly understood. We have studied effect of electrical pulses on phase change in a single-crystalline Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) (GST) nanowire device by situ transmission electron microscopy. show that produce dislocations crystalline GST, which become mobile glide direction hole-carrier motion. The continuous increase density moving unidirectionally material leads to dislocation jamming, eventually induces with sharp interface spanning entire cross section. dislocation-templated amorphization explains large on/off resistance ratio device.