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Temperature-dependent thermal resistance of phase change memory

One of the key challenges of phase change memory (PCM) is its high power consumption during the reset operation, when the phase change material (typically Ge2Sb2Te5, i.e., GST) heats up to ∼900 K or more in order to melt. Here, we study the temperature-dependent behavior of PCM devices by probing the reset power at ambient temperatures from 80 to 400 K. We find that different device structures exhibit contrasting temperature-dependent behavior. The reset power in our confined-type PCM is nearly unchanged with ambient temperature, corresponding to a temperature-dependent thermal resistance, whereas results for mushroom-type PCM from the literature show a linear relation between power and temperature, suggesting a more constant thermal resistance. This discrepancy is ascribed to different temperature distributions and thermal properties of the dominant components of the PCM cell thermal resistance, as shown by electro-thermal modeling. In the confined cell, the thermal boundary resistance of the GST and the thermal conductivity of the bottom electrode dominate the thermal resistance, while for the mushroom cell, the GST thermal conductivity plays a greater role. These findings can help to design more power- and energy-efficient PCM devices by better focusing thermal management efforts on the key components of the device.