Emerging memories

In phase-change memory (PCM), how is a cell heated to put it into the low-resistance crystalline state (set)?

  1. AHeat it rapidly above the melting point and quench it immediately
  2. BHold it at a temperature above the crystallization temperature but below the melting point for a relatively long time
  3. CDo not heat it at all
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Answer: B. Hold it at a temperature above the crystallization temperature but below the melting point for a relatively long time

In a set operation, the amorphous material is held for a certain time above the crystallization temperature but below the melting point, allowing atoms to arrange themselves and crystallize. Heating above the melting point and quenching freezes the atoms in disorder, producing the amorphous (high-resistance) state; that is the reset operation.

  • A. Heating above the melting point and quenching is the reset (amorphization) method.
  • B. Correct. Holding between the crystallization temperature and melting point crystallizes it.
  • C. Without heating, the state does not change.
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More Emerging memories questions

  1. On the hysteresis loop (polarization versus electric field) of a ferroelectric, what is the polarization that remains when the field returns to zero called?
  2. Which external environmental factor requires care when using MRAM?
  3. Why are MRAM and FeRAM sometimes used in high-radiation environments such as space equipment?
  4. Which storage-class memory technology, jointly developed by Intel and Micron, was sold under the product name "Optane"?
  5. In phase-change memory (PCM), how can multiple bits be stored in one cell (multi-level storage)?