Phase-change Nanowries and their use in Memory Device Applications: A LIterature Review

Lee Joonsuk

While phase change materials have been used for optical recording such as CD, DVD by reflectivity change from amorphous to crystalline they have also attracted a lot of research interests recently for their great potential to be utilized as non-volatile electronic memory using resistivity change from amorphous to crystalline. Lots of device structures are investigated to obtain high integration, good cyclability and low power consumption. Low cyclability is the biggest barrier to overcome in order to have reliability of device operation. Phase change nanowires are being used as one of the device structures for discovering better phase changing properties. The advantages and disadvantages of phase change nanowires for memory applications will be discussed.