Volume 213, 2019

Structural transition pathway and bipolar switching of the GeTe–Sb2Te3 superlattice as interfacial phase-change memory

Abstract

We investigated the resistive switching mechanism between the high-resistance state (HRS) and the low-resistance state (LRS) of the GeTe–Sb2Te3 (GST) superlattice. First-principles calculations were performed to identify the structural transition pathway and to evaluate the current–voltage (IV) characteristics of the GST device cell. After determining the atomistic structures of the stable structural phases of the GST superlattice, we found the structural transition pathways and the transition states of possible elementary processes in the device, which consisted of a thin film of GST superlattice and semi-infinite electrodes. The calculations of the IV characteristics were examined to identify the HRS and the LRS, and the results reasonably agreed with those of our previous study (H. Nakamura, et al., Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 9286). The calculated HRS/LRS and analysis of the transition states of the pathways suggest that a bipolar switching mode dominated by the electric-field effect is possible.

Graphical abstract: Structural transition pathway and bipolar switching of the GeTe–Sb2Te3 superlattice as interfacial phase-change memory

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 May 2018
Accepted
17 Jul 2018
First published
18 Jul 2018

Faraday Discuss., 2019,213, 303-319

Author version available

Structural transition pathway and bipolar switching of the GeTe–Sb2Te3 superlattice as interfacial phase-change memory

N. Inoue and H. Nakamura, Faraday Discuss., 2019, 213, 303 DOI: 10.1039/C8FD00093J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements