Nanoscale Phase Change Memory with Graphene Ribbon Electrodes

Abstract: Phase change memory (PCM) devices are known to reduce in power consumption as the bit volume and contact area of their electrodes are scaled down. Here, we demonstrate two types of low-power PCM devices with lateral graphene ribbon electrodes: one in which the graphene is patterned into narrow nanoribbons and the other where the phase change material is patterned into nanoribbons. The sharp graphene "edge" contacts enable switching with threshold voltages as low as ~3 V, low programming currents (<1 {\mu}A SET, <10 {\mu}A RESET) and ON/OFF ratios >100. Large-scale fabrication with graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition also enables the study of heterogeneous integration and that of variability for such nanomaterials and devices.