Calculations of Absorbed Dose in Heavy-Ion Irradiated Phase-Change Memory Cells

Abstract

Heavy ion irradiation on phase change memory cell was conducted using Monte Carlo simulations. Absorbed dose in the whole memory cell, as well as in its active layer was assessed. Phase change memory cell was modeled as a sandwiched structure of two TiW electrodes and ZnS-SiO2 films as insulators surrounding the active region. The most commonly used phase change material, Ge2Sb2Te5, was used as active layer of the cell. Ionization effects of heavy ion irradiation were investigated for various thicknesses of phase change layer and different ion energies.