On the prospect of creating memory elements based on silicon nanoparticles

Abstract

Phase-change memory is based on a change in the optical, electrical, or other properties of a substance during a phase transition, for example, transition from the amorphous to the crystalline state. Already realized and potential applications of such memory are associated with the use for this purpose of multicomponent alloys based on metals, semiconductors. However, single-component nanoparticles, including Si ones, are also of interest in view of the prospects for their use as nanoscale memory units. In particular, possibility of creating such memory units is confirmed by the fact that the bulk phase of the amorphous silicon has an optical absorption coefficient which is by an order of magnitude greater than that of the crystalline, although, it is difficult to release this effect for an individual nanoparticle whose size does not exceed the wavelength of light. In this work, using molecular dynamics (MD) and the Stillinger-Weber potential, we studied the laws of melting and conditions of crystallization for silicon nanoparticles containing up to 100,000 atoms. It has been shown that upon cooling a silicon nanodroplet at a rate of 0.2 TK/s and higher rates, its transition into the amorphous state takes place, whereas single-component metal nanodroplets crystallize even at cooling rates of 1 TK/s. Upon subsequent heating of amorphous silicon nanoparticles containing more than 50,000 atoms, they crystallize in the definite temperature range 1300—1400 K. It is concluded that it is principally possible to create memory units based on the above phase transitions. The transition of a nanoparticle to the amorphous state is achieved by its melting and subsequent cooling to the room temperature at a rate of 0.2 TK/s, and switching to the crystalline state is achieved by heating it to 1300—1400 K at a rate of 0.2 TK/s and subsequent cooling. On the basis of results of MD experiments, a conclusion is made that there exist a minimal size of silicon nanoparticles, for which producing memory units based on the change of the phase state, is not possible. It was found that for the temperature change rate of 0.2 TK/s, the minimal size in question 12.4 nm that corresponds to 50,000 atoms.