Assessment of threshold switching dynamics in phase-change chalcogenide memories

The electronic properties of amorphous chalcogenide materials to be used in a phase change memory (PCM) play a critical role in limiting the read/program speed and voltage of the cell. This work presents a comprehensive experimental analysis of the recovery transient of threshold voltage V
_T
after reset. It is shown that V
_T
displays a fast increase in the first 30 ns after reset, followed by a slower time evolution due to drift. The recovery behavior is explained in terms of a threshold switching model for amorphous chalcogenides. Finally, the recovery of the OFF-state resistance R is studied, in order to assess the resistance window of the PCM under fast read operation