Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-tnzcf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-12T22:22:13.138Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trilayer Graphene as a Candidate Material for Phase-Change Memory Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2016

Mohamed M Atwa,
Ahmed AlAskalany,
Karim Elgammal,
Anderson D Smith,
Mattias Hammar and
Mikael Östling
Mohamed M Atwa*
Affiliation:
Department of Integrated Devices and Circuits, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440 Kista, Sweden
Ahmed AlAskalany
Affiliation:
Department of Integrated Devices and Circuits, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440 Kista, Sweden
Karim Elgammal
Affiliation:
Department of Materials and Nano Physics, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440 Kista, SwedenSeRC (Swedish e-Science Research Center), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
Anderson D Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Integrated Devices and Circuits, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440 Kista, Sweden
Mattias Hammar
Affiliation:
Department of Integrated Devices and Circuits, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440 Kista, Sweden
Mikael Östling
Affiliation:
Department of Integrated Devices and Circuits, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440 Kista, Sweden
*
*(Email: atwa@kth.se)
Get access

Abstract

There is pressing need in computation of a universal phase change memory consolidating the speed of RAM with the permanency of hard disk storage. A potentiated scanning tunneling microscope tip traversing the soliton separating a metallic, ABA-stacked phase and a semiconducting ABC-stacked phase in trilayer graphene has been shown to permanently transform ABA-stacked regions to ABC-stacked regions. In this study, we used density functional theory (DFT) calculations to assess the energetics of this phase-change and explore the possibility of organic functionalization using s-triazine to facilitate a reverse phase-change from rhombohedral back to Bernal in graphene trilayers. A significant deviation in the energy per simulated atom arises when s-triazine is adsorbed, favoring the transformation of the ABC phase to the ABA phase once more. A phase change memory device utilizing rapid, energy-efficient, reversible, field-induced phase-change in graphene trilayers could potentially revolutionize digital memory industry.

Keywords

memoryelectronic structurephase transformation

Information

Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 1 , Issue 20: Nanomaterials and Synthesis , 2016, pp. 1487 - 1494
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Meena, J., Sze, S., Chand, U. & Tseng, T.-Y. Overview of emerging nonvolatile memory technologies. Nanoscale Res Lett 9, 526 (2014).Google Scholar
Hong, S, Auciello, O & Wouters, D. Emerging Non-Volatile Memories. (2014). at <http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-4899-7537-9.pdf> [accessed on 02-11-15]+[accessed+on+02-11-15]>Google Scholar
Yu, H & Wang, Y. Design Exploration of Emerging Nano-scale Non-volatile Memory. (2014). at <http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-4939-0551-5.pdf> (accessed on 05-11-15)+(accessed+on+05-11-15)>Google Scholar
Hu, J.-M., Li, Z., Chen, L.-Q. & Nan, C.-W. High-density magnetoresistive random access memory operating at ultralow voltage at room temperature. Nature Communications 2, 553 (2011).Google Scholar
Raoux, S, Xiong, F, Wuttig, M & Pop, E. Phase change materials and phase change memory. MRS Bulletin (2014). doi:10.1557/mrs.2014.139 Google Scholar
Ferrari, AC, Meyer, JC, Scardaci, V & Casiraghi, C. Raman spectrum of graphene and graphene layers. Physical review … (2006). <http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.187401> [accessed on 14-06-15]Google Scholar
Lui, C., Li, Z., Mak, K., Cappelluti, E. & Heinz, T. F. Observation of an electrically tunable band gap in trilayer graphene. Nature Physics 7, 944–947 (2011).Google Scholar
Jhang, S. et al. Stacking-order dependent transport properties of trilayer graphene. arXiv (2011). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.84.161408 Google Scholar
Avetisyan, AA, Partoens, B & Peeters, FM. Stacking order dependent electric field tuning of the band gap in graphene multilayers. Physical Review B 81, 115432 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, P. et al. A pathway between Bernal and rhombohedral stacked graphene layers with scanning tunneling microscopy. Appl Phys Lett 100, 201601 (2012).Google Scholar
Yankowitz, M. et al. Electric field control of soliton motion and stacking in trilayer graphene. Nature Materials 13, 786–789 (2014).Google Scholar
Graf, D. et al. Spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy of single- and few-layer graphene. Nano Lett. 7, 238–42 (2007).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lipkind, D. & Chickos, J. An examination of the vaporization enthalpies and vapor pressures of pyrazine, pyrimidine, pyridazine, and 1,3,5-triazine. Structural Chemistry 20, 49–58 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, W. et al. Molecular adsorption induces the transformation of rhombohedral- to Bernal-stacking order in trilayer graphene. Nat Commun 4, (2013).Google Scholar
Giannozzi, P. et al. QUANTUM ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 21, 395502 (2009).Google Scholar
Kokalj, A. XCrySDen - a new program for displaying crystalline structures and electron densities. Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling 17, 176–179 (1999).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vanderbilt, D. Optimally smooth norm-conserving pseudopotentials. Physical Review B 32, 8412 (1985).Google Scholar
Gygi, F. Electronic Structure Laboratory. (2014).Google Scholar
Monkhorst, HJ & Pack, JD. Special points for Brillouin-zone integrations. Physical Review B (1976). at <http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.13.5188> [accessed on 27-08-15]Google Scholar
Thonhauser, T, Cooper, VR, Li, S, Puzder, A & Hyldgaard, P. Van der Waals density functional: Self-consistent potential and the nature of the van der Waals bond. Physical Review B (2007). at <http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.125112> [accessed on 27-08-15]Google Scholar
Rydberg, H, Schröder, E, Langreth, DC & Lundqvist, BI. Van der Waals density functional for general geometries. … review letters (2004). at <http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.246401> [accessed on 27-08-15]Google Scholar
Román-Pérez, G & Soler, JM. Efficient implementation of a van der Waals density functional: application to double-wall carbon nanotubes. Physical review letters (2009). at <http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.096102>[accessed on 27-08-15]Google Scholar
Chang, C.-H., Fan, X., Li, L.-J. & Kuo, J.-L. Band Gap Tuning of Graphene by Adsorption of Aromatic Molecules. J Phys Chem C 116, 13788–13794 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar