Thermal Characterization of Nanoengineered Chalcogenide Materials for Phase-Change Memory

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。硫系相变（PC）材料由于在高密度PC光记录和随机存取存储器（PCRAM）器件中的广泛应用而受到人们的关注。这些装置的操作涉及温度和电位分布的复杂相互作用，这与PC结晶动力学密切相关。这项研究将大大提高对PC纳米工程材料中纳米尺度热（和电荷）输运的理解深度。该项目包括结晶动力学参数和输运特性的实验测量，如导热系数、电阻率、塞贝克系数、熔点、热容量和潜热。实验结构将集成到一个新型微热阶段，该阶段能够使用电阻和光学反射率测量实时监测整个结晶周期过程，并配备常规或原位透射电子显微镜（TEM）研究的规定。智力价值：寻求诸如但不限于以下问题的答案：在数百万个完整的结晶过程中，输运性质和结晶参数是如何受到影响的？是否有可能在不影响电导率的情况下增加塞贝克系数？熔融温度和潜热如何受PC纳米颗粒尺寸分布的影响？新型微型仪器将使超快（超过1000万K/s）结晶动力学过程的研究成为可能。纳米热计将允许以超过1nj的分辨率调查PC材料的熔化温度和潜热。更广泛的影响：这项研究增加了对阈值开关起源的理解，阈值电压和复位电阻的漂移，以及PCRAMs器件的失效机制。因此，该研究可能会导致鉴定具有显著增强热电性能的纳米工程PC材料。除了涉及本科生和研究生的研究人员外，以前仅限于在先进实验室使用的传热可视化工具将被带到本科生的领域。现有的以理论为主的热传递（HT）课程将转变为实践互动体验。将准备热传递基本概念的热传递示范教育视频，重点是热传递的可视化。这些视频将被发布在YouTube上，我们将征求观众的反馈。随后，我们将改进早期的YouTube帖子，将最相关的内容汇编成4个讲座视频系列，每个15分钟，与获奖的Silicon Run系列的制作人合作。

0853350Goodson This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Chalcogenide Phase Change (PC) materials are of interest due to their widespread application in high density PC optical recording and random access memory (PCRAM) devices. The operation of these devices involves a complex interaction of temperature and electrical potential distributions, which are strongly coupled to the PC crystallization kinetics. This research will substantially improve the depth of understanding of nanoscale heat (and charge) transport in PC nanoengineered materials. The project includes experimental measurements of the crystallization kinetics parameters and transport properties such as thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, melting point, heat capacity, and latent heat. The experimental structures will be integrated into a novel MicroThermal Stage that is capable of real time monitoring of the full cycle crystallization process using electrical resistance and optical reflectivity measurements and equipped with provisions for conventional, or in situ Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) studies. Intellectual Merit: Answers are sought to questions such as but not limited to: How are the transport properties and crystallization parameters affected over millions of full cycle crystallization processes? Is it possible to increase the Seebeck coefficient without adversely affecting the electrical conductivity? How are the melting temperature and latent heat affected by the PC nanoparticle size distribution? Novel micro-instruments will enable study of ultrafast (over 10 million K/s) crystallization kinetics processes. A nanocalorimeter will allow investigation of melting temperatures and latent heats of PC materials with a resolution in excess of 1 nJ. Broader Impact: This research increases understanding of the origins of the threshold switching, drift in threshold voltage and reset resistance, and failure mechanisms in PCRAMs devices. Hence, the research may lead to identification of nanoengineered PC materials with substantially enhanced thermoelectric properties. In addition to involving undergraduate and graduate student researchers, heat transfer visualization tools previously limited to use in advanced laboratories, will be brought to the realm of the undergraduate class. The existing, mainly theoretical heat transfer (HT) course will be converted to a hands-on interactive experience. HT demonstration educational videos that illustrate the basic concepts of heat transfer will be prepared, with an emphasis on heat transfer visualization. They will be posted on YouTube, and we will solicit feedback from viewers. Subsequently, we will improve the early YouTube postings by compiling the most relevant contents in the form of 4 lectures video series, 15 minutes each, working with the producers of the award winning Silicon Run series.