A Novel Cross-Spacer Phase Change Memory with Ultra-Small Lithography Independent Contact Area

Abstract

A cross-spacer phase change memory (PCM) cell with ultra-small lithography-independent contact area for reduced writing current has been successfully demonstrated. By crossing the spacer sidewalls of phase change and heater material, a small contact area of ~1,000 nm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> with 0.23 mA reset current is therefore obtained. The result of a derived 2-bit per cell (Chain) structure is also shown. The cross-spacer cell structure is a potential candidate for PCM with multi-bit per cell in one PC layer.