Ultra-high-density phase-change storage and memory
Source abstract
Abstract
Phase-change storage is widely used in optical information technologies (DVD, CD-ROM and so on), and recently it has also been considered for non-volatile memory applications. This work reports advances in thermal data recording of phase-change materials. Specifically, we show erasable thermal phase-change recording at a storage density of 3.3 Tb inch(-2), which is three orders of magnitude denser than that currently achievable with commercial optical storage technologies. We demonstrate the concept of a thin-film nanoheater to realize ultra-small heat spots with dimensions of less than 50 nm. Finally, we show in a proof-of-concept demonstration that an individual thin-film heater can write, erase and read the phase of these storage materials at competitive speeds. This work provides important stepping stones for a very-high-density storage or memory technology based on phase-change materials.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Phase-change materials and chalcogenides · Liquid Crystal Research Advancements · Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (20)
Show source-provided references
1. Mansuripur, M. Rewritable optical disk technologies. Proc. SPIE 4109, 162–176 (2000).10.1117/12.409216 ↗
2. Yamada, N. Erasable phase-change optical materials. Mater. Res. Soc. Bull. 21, 48–50 (1996).10.1557/S0883769400036368 ↗
3. Lankhorst, M. H. R., Ketelaars, B. W. S. M. M. & Wolter, R. A. Low-cost and nanoscale non-volatile memory concept for future silicon chips. Nature Mater. 4, 347–352 (2005).10.1038/nmat1350 ↗
4. Tyson, S. et al. Nonvolatile, high density, high performance phase-change memory. IEEE Aerospace Conf. Proc. 5, 385–395 (2000).
5. Ovshinsky, S. R. Reversible electrical switching phenomena in disordered structures. Phys. Rev. Lett. 21, 1450–1453 (1968).10.1103/PhysRevLett.21.1450 ↗
6. Yang, P. P., Lin, W. C., Hsu, C. C. & Tsai, D. P. in European Symposium on Phase Change and Ovonic Science (Cambridge, 2005); available at .
7. Kado, H. & Tohda, T. Nanometer-scale recording on chalcogenide films with an atomic force microscope. Appl. Phys. Lett. 66, 2961–2963 (1995).10.1063/1.114243 ↗
8. Gidon, S. et al. Electrical probe storage using Joule heating in phase change media. Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 6392–6394 (2004).10.1063/1.1834718 ↗
9. Gibson, G. A. et al. Phase-change recording medium that enables ultrahigh-density electron-beam data storage. Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 051902 (2005).10.1063/1.1856690 ↗
10. Partovi, A. et al. High-power laser light source for near-field optics and its application to high-density optical data storage. Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 1515–1517 (1999).10.1063/1.124740 ↗
11. Hosaka, S. et al. Phase-change recording using a scanning near-field optical microscope. J. Appl. Phys. 79, 8082–8086 (1996).10.1063/1.362363 ↗
12. Greer, A. L. in European Symposium on Phase Change and Ovonic Science (Cambridge, 2005); available at .
13. Sugawara, K., Gotoh, T. & Tanaka, K. Minimal phase-change marks produced in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films. Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 43, 818–821 (2004).10.1143/JJAP.43.L818 ↗
14. Privitera, S., Bongiorno, C., Rimini, E. & Zonca, R. Crystal nucleation and growth processes in Ge2Sb2Te5 . Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 4448–4450 (2004).10.1063/1.1759063 ↗
15. Dick, K., Dhanasekaran, T., Zhang, Z. & Meisel, D. Size-dependent melting of silica-encapsulated gold nanoparticles. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124, 2312–2317 (2002).10.1021/ja017281a ↗
16. Weidenhof, V., Friedrich, I., Ziegler, S. & Wuttig, M. Laser induced crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films. J. Appl. Phys. 89, 3168–3176 (2001).10.1063/1.1351868 ↗
17. Hamann, H. F., O’Boyle, M. P., Wickramasinghe, H. K. & Chey, S. J. Assembly for thermal and/or thermally-assisted information processing. US Patent US20040190175A1 (2004).
18. Hsieh, Y. C., Mansuripur, M., Volkmer, J. & Brewen, A. Measurements of thermal coefficients of nonreversible phase-change optical recording films. Appl. Opt. 36, 866–872 (1997).10.1364/AO.36.000866 ↗
19. Weidenhof, V., Pirch, N., Friedrich, I., Ziegler, S. & Wuttig, M. Minimum time for laser induced amorphization of Ge2Sb2Te5 films. J. Appl. Phys. 88, 657–664 (2000).10.1063/1.373717 ↗
20. Hamann, H. F., Martin, Y. C. & Wickramasinghe, H. K. Thermally assisted recording beyond traditional limits. Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 810–812 (2004).10.1063/1.1644924 ↗