Blade-Type Phase-Change Random Access Memory Technology, Challenge and Prospect

Blade-type phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) has recently become one promising candidate to compete with conventional PCRAM devices for next generation on-chip storage. This can be ascribed to its sharp contact region at heater-phase change layer interface, significantly lowering resulting energy consumption. However, a comprehensive review concerning the physical principles, current status, and possible improvements of blade-type PCRAM is still missing. To address this issue, here we first reviewed common phase-change materials for storage applications and physical principles of blade-type PCRAM. Subsequently, the current status of blade-type PCRAM from both experimental and theoretical perspectives was described as well as the performances comparison with conventional PCRAM. Possible approaches to overcome the technical challenges of blade-type PCRAM and its future prospect were eventually discussed.