Nanosecond switching in GeTe phase change memory cells

The electrical switching behavior of GeTe-based phase change memory devices is characterized by time resolved experiments. SET pulses with a duration of less than 16 ns are shown to crystallize the material. Depending on the resistance of the RESET state, the minimum SET pulse duration can even be reduced down to 1 ns. This finding is attributed to the increasing impact of crystal growth upon decreasing switchable volume. Using GeTe or materials with similar crystal growth velocities, hence promises nonvolatile phase change memories with dynamic random access memorylike switching speeds.