PHASE CHANGE MEMORY, PHASE CHANGE MEMORY ASSEMBLY, PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL, 2D PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL ARRAY, 3D PHASE CHANGE MEMORY CELL ARRAY AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENT

摘要

The current flow restriction used to switch a phase change memory (PC-RAM) poses a significant problem in known phase change memories. The construction of said memories is based on a vertical current conduction that is perpendicular to the lateral extension of the phase change memory, between two electrical contacts lying one above the other. To achieve a particularly efficient current restriction, the inventive phase change memory comprises a memory material layer consisting of a phase change material and first and second electrical contacts that are located at a distance from one another, via which a switching zone of the memory material layer is traversed by a current signal. Said current signal can be used to induce a phase change between a crystalline phase and an amorphous phase and thus a change in resistance of the phase change material in the switching zone. The novel concept of the inventive phase change memory is characterised in that the switching zone is located along the lateral extension of the phase change memory between the first and second electrical contacts, whereby the current signal is conducted through the switching zone along said lateral extension. This permits in particular a traversing surface area for the current conduction, which is formed perpendicularly to the lateral extension, and thus the switching current that is required for a current signal to be considerably reduced. The invention also relates to a phase change memory assembly, a phase change memory cell, a 2D phase change memory cell array, a 3D phase change memory cell array and an application-related component comprising an integrated memory function and/or logic function.