Electrothermal modeling of Phase change memory with interfacial oxide layer during RESET operation

Phase-change memory (PCM) is an emerging non-volatile information-storing technology, yet high programming power is a crucial bottleneck. Adding a thin layer of hafnium oxide (HfO
2
) between the Ge
2
Sb
2
Te
5
(GST) phase change layer and TiN bottom electrode reduces reset power by 80%, compared to the one without an interfacial layer. Finite-element simulation comprising electrical and thermal models provided additional insight into the temperature distribution within the devices. The maximum temperature achieved in the PCM device with the interfacial layer is 2.6 times greater than the device without an interfacial layer. It is attributed to the adequate confinement of generated heat inside the phase change layer by the interfacial layer owing to the low thermal conductivity of HfO
2
. Also, a wide resistance contrast (~10
³
) is acquired from analytically calculated phase resistance. Our findings pave the way for power-efficient and high-density memory applications.