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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrated Devices and Circuits, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440, Kista, Sweden

    Mohamed M Atwa, Ahmed AlAskalany, Anderson D Smith, Mattias Hammar & Mikael Östling

  2. Department of Materials and Nano Physics, School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, SE-16440, Kista, Sweden

    Karim Elgammal

  3. SeRC (Swedish e-Science Research Center), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Karim Elgammal

Authors
  1. Mohamed M Atwa
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  2. Ahmed AlAskalany
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  3. Karim Elgammal
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  4. Anderson D Smith
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  5. Mattias Hammar
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  6. Mikael Östling
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Atwa, M.M., AlAskalany, A., Elgammal, K. et al. Trilayer Graphene as a Candidate Material for Phase-Change Memory Applications. MRS Advances 1, 1487–1494 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2016.237

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2016.237

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