International business machines corporation (20240107900). PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL SIDEWALL HEATER simplified abstract

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PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL SIDEWALL HEATER

Organization Name

international business machines corporation

Inventor(s)

Juntao Li of Cohoes NY (US)

Kangguo Cheng of Schenectady NY (US)

Carl Radens of LaGrangeville NY (US)

Ching-Tzu Chen of Ossining NY (US)

PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL SIDEWALL HEATER - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240107900 titled 'PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL SIDEWALL HEATER

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a phase change memory structure with an improved sidewall heater for more efficient switching between amorphous and crystalline states of the phase change material.

  • The sidewall heater features an upper section that extends through a bilayer dielectric to contact the phase change material layer, and a lower section with conductive layers in contact with the bottom electrode.
  • The sidewall heater is designed in an inverted T shape, reducing the current requirement to reset the phase change material.

Potential Applications

The technology can be applied in:

  • Non-volatile memory devices
  • High-speed data storage systems

Problems Solved

  • Faster switching between states of the phase change material
  • Reduced energy consumption during reset operations

Benefits

  • Improved performance and reliability of phase change memory structures
  • Lower power consumption and increased efficiency

Potential Commercial Applications

  • Consumer electronics
  • Data centers and server farms

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of conventional sidewall heaters in phase change memory structures.

Unanswered Questions

How does the sidewall heater design impact the overall performance of the phase change memory structure?

The article does not provide specific details on the performance improvements achieved by the sidewall heater design.

Are there any limitations or drawbacks associated with the proposed sidewall heater design?

The article does not mention any potential limitations or drawbacks of the improved sidewall heater.


Original Abstract Submitted

a phase change memory structure with improved sidewall heater and formation thereof may be presented. phase change materials are capable of being switched between a first structural state in which the material is in a generally amorphous solid phase, and a second structural state in which the material is in a generally crystalline solid phase in the active region of the cell. presented herein may be a side wall heater, where the upper section extends through bilayer dielectric to contact a phase change material layer and the lower section of the sidewall heater has conductive layers in contact with the bottom electrode. the width of the sidewall heater may reflect an inverted t shape reducing the current requirement to reset the phase change material.