Analytical model for subthreshold conduction and threshold switching in chalcogenide-based memory devices

Chalcogenide materials are receiving increasing interest for their many applications as active materials in emerging memories, such as phase-change memories, programmable metallization cells, and cross-point devices. The great advantage of these materials is the capability to appear in two different phases, the amorphous and the crystalline phases, with rather different electrical properties. The aim of this work is to provide a physically based model for conduction in the amorphous chalcogenide material, able to predict the current-voltage (I−V) characteristics as a function of phase state, temperature, and cell geometry. First, the trap-limited transport at relatively low currents (subthreshold regime) is…