DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0812942106. Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials

Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials

10.1073/pnas.0812942106

Crossref journal-article

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (341)

Abstract

Phase-change materials are functionally important materials that can be thermally interconverted between metallic (crystalline) and semiconducting (amorphous) phases on a very short time scale. Although the interconversion appears to involve a change in local atomic coordination numbers, the electronic basis for this process is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that in a nearly vacancy-free binary GeSb system where we can drive the phase change both thermally and, as we discover, by pressure, the transformation into the amorphous phase is electronic in origin. Correlations between conductivity, total system energy, and local atomic coordination revealed by experiments and long time ab initio simulations show that the structural reorganization into the amorphous state is driven by opening of an energy gap in the electronic density of states. The electronic driving force behind the phase change has the potential to change the interconversion paradigm in this material class.

Bibliography

Shakhvorostov, D., Nistor, R. A., Krusin-Elbaum, L., Martyna, G. J., Newns, D. M., Elmegreen, B. G., Liu, X., Hughes, Z. E., Paul, S., Cabral, C., Raoux, S., Shrekenhamer, D. B., Basov, D. N., Song, Y., & MÃ¼ser, M. H. (2009). Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(27), 10907â10911.

Authors 15

Dmitry Shakhvorostov (first)
Razvan A. Nistor (additional)
Lia Krusin-Elbaum (additional)
Glenn J. Martyna (additional)
Dennis M. Newns (additional)
Bruce G. Elmegreen (additional)
Xiao-hu Liu (additional)
Zak E. Hughes (additional)
Sujata Paul (additional)
Cyril Cabral (additional)
Simone Raoux (additional)
David B. Shrekenhamer (additional)
Dimitri N. Basov (additional)
Young Song (additional)
Martin H. Müser (additional)

References 31 Referenced 32

NF Mott Metal–Insulator Transitions (Taylor & Francis, London, 1974). / Metal–Insulator Transitions by Mott NF (1974)
10.1103/PhysRevLett.21.1450
10.1038/nmat1350
10.1038/nmat1215
10.1038/nmat2330
10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.016402
10.1038/nmat1539
10.1063/1.1868860
10.1351/pac199163101387
10.1109/TED.2003.823243
10.1038/4371246a
10.1088/0953-8984/20/46/465103
10.1063/1.2801626
10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.267801
10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.055507
10.1103/PhysRevB.65.115205
10.1038/nmat1807
YC Chen, et al., Ultrathin phase-change bridge memory device using GeSb. IEDM Tech Dig 206, 777–780 (2006). / IEDM Tech Dig / Ultrathin phase-change bridge memory device using GeSb by Chen YC (2006)
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.035701
10.1063/1.2970106
RE Peierls Quantum Theory of Solids (Oxford Univ Press, Oxford, 1956). / Quantum Theory of Solids by Peierls RE (1956)
10.1103/PhysRevB.70.184119
10.1103/PhysRevB.74.134305
10.1016/0038-1098(78)91041-4
10.1524/zkri.219.6.370.34640
10.1103/PhysRevB.77.165135
10.1147/rd.521.0159
10.1103/PhysRevB.59.9703
BG Elmegreen et al. Piezo-driven non-volatile memory cell with hysteretic resistance. US patent application YOR920080512US1. (2008).
10.1126/science.1150124
10.1103/PhysRevA.38.3098

Dates

Type	When
Created	16 years, 2 months ago (June 22, 2009, 10:04 p.m.)
Deposited	3 years, 4 months ago (April 12, 2022, 6:17 p.m.)
Indexed	1 year, 6 months ago (Feb. 2, 2024, 12:32 a.m.)
Issued	16 years, 1 month ago (July 7, 2009)
Published	16 years, 1 month ago (July 7, 2009)
Published Online	16 years, 1 month ago (July 7, 2009)
Published Print	16 years, 1 month ago (July 7, 2009)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Shakhvorostov_2009, title={Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials}, volume={106}, ISSN={1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0812942106}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.0812942106}, number={27}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Shakhvorostov, Dmitry and Nistor, Razvan A. and Krusin-Elbaum, Lia and Martyna, Glenn J. and Newns, Dennis M. and Elmegreen, Bruce G. and Liu, Xiao-hu and Hughes, Zak E. and Paul, Sujata and Cabral, Cyril and Raoux, Simone and Shrekenhamer, David B. and Basov, Dimitri N. and Song, Young and Müser, Martin H.}, year={2009}, month=jul, pages={10907–10911} }

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