Hyung-Woo Ahn

A study on the temperature dependence of the threshold switching characteristics of Ge2Sb2Te5

We investigated the temperature dependence of the threshold switching characteristics of a memory-type chalcogenide material, Ge2Sb2Te5. We found that the threshold voltage (Vth) decreased linearly with temperature, implying the existence of a critical conductivity of Ge2Sb2Te5 for its threshold switching. In addition, we investigated the effect of bias voltage and temperature on the delay time (tdel) of the threshold switching of Ge2Sb2Te5 and described the measured relationship by an analytic expression which we derived based on a physical model where thermally activated hopping is a dominant transport mechanism in the material.

Towards self-lubricated nanocoatings

The microtribological performance of molecularly thick (<10 nm) thermoplastic elastomeric films grafted to a silicon surface was enhanced by adding a minute amount of paraffinic oil, which was adsorbed from vapor phase and held by the rubber matrix. We studied the kinetics of polymer swelling in oil and the formation of polymer gels. We observed that a vast majority of adsorbed oil evaporated from the ultrathin polymer coating leaving a minute amount of oil trapped within the rubber phase. This resulted in a dramatic enhancement of the microtribological performance of the grafted polymer gel layers. These polymer gel layers exhibited a very steady friction response and a small value of the coefficient of friction as well as greater wear-resistance as compared to the initial polymer coating. The performance of polymer gel coatings was much better than the performance of a classic ‘boundary lubricant’ for silicon surfaces, an alkylsilane self-assembled monolayer. The approach proposed demonstrated a new efficient route towards enhanced tribological performance of ultrathin polymer coatings.

Practical contaminant analysis of lubricating oil in a steam turbine-generator

In order to identify the level of contamination of lubricating oil in a turbine-generator at a local power plant, contaminant analysis was conducted. The contaminant analysis was also used to assess the condition of tribo-components such as bearings, gears and bearing deflectors. Oil samples were taken and the debris in the used lubricating oil were analysed off-line to provide information for the construction of an on-line monitoring system. Statistical analysis of debris was also carried out to determine the quantitative trend of oil contamination. The on-line contaminant monitoring system was then developed with the capabilities to provide an early warning of excessive oil contamination and to detect any impending failures of tribo-components. Guidelines necessary for maintenance engineers such as preset warning level and a trip level (automatic shutdown) of contamination were established. In the system, a device utilizing a filter blockage principle was employed to measure the contamination level. The on-line system developed was installed and field tested in a turbine-generator at a local power plant. During the two year period of investigation, the lubricating system and related tribo-components were revealed to be in normal condition.

Improved stability of a phase change memory device using Ge-doped SbTe at varying ambient temperature

Ge-doped SbTe (Ge–ST) was compared with Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) for its potential use in the phase-change memory with improved stability at varying ambient temperature (TA). Device characteristics such as RESET current, RESET resistance, and SET resistance of Ge–ST devices were found to vary significantly less with TA than those of GST devices. From measured carrier density, mobility, and optical band gaps, these findings are interpreted to derive from a metallic nature of the crystalline Ge–ST in contrast with a semiconducting nature of the crystalline GST as well as a relatively weaker covalent bonding in amorphous Ge–ST.

Triplex molecular layers with nonlinear nanomechanical response

The molecular design of surface structures with built-in mechanisms for mechanical energy dissipation under nanomechanical deformation and compression resistance provided superior nanoscale wear stability. We designed robust, well-defined trilayer surface nanostructures chemically grafted to a silicon oxide surface with an effective composite modulus of about 1 GPa. The total thickness was within 20–30 nm and included an 8 nm rubber layer sandwiched between two hard layers. The rubber layer provides an effective mechanism for energy dissipation, facilitated by nonlinear, giant, reversible elastic deformations of the rubber matrix, restoring the initial status due to the presence of an effective nanodomain network and chemical grafting within the rubber matrix.

The effect of doping Sb on the electronic structure and the device characteristics of Ovonic Threshold Switches based on Ge-Se

The Ovonic Threshold Switch (OTS) based on an amorphous chalcogenide material has attracted much interest as a promising candidate for a high-performance thin-film switching device enabling 3D-stacking of memory devices. In this work, we studied on the electronic structure of amorphous Sb-doped Ge0.6Se0.4 (in atomic mole fraction) film and its characteristics as to OTS devices. From the optical absorption spectroscopy measurement, the band gap (Eg) was found to decrease with increasing Sb content. In addition, as Sb content increased, the activation energy (Ea) for electrical conduction was found to decrease down to about one third of Eg from a half. As to the device characteristics, we found that the threshold switching voltage (Vth) drastically decreased with the Sb content. These results, being accountable in terms of the changes in the bonding configuration of constituent atoms as well as in the electronic structure such as the energy gap and trap states, advance an effective method of compositional adjustment to modulate Vth of an OTS device for various applications.

Thermal behaviour of surface-coated materials in concentrated sliding contacts

Abstract The thermal behaviour of layered solids, typified in practice by surface coated materials, is evaluated for the specific case of a fast moving heat source. This is intended to represent the particular instance of solids in sliding contact and the consequences of friction. The finite difference method has been utilized to establish the temperature distributions at the surface and also the sub-surface region for coating materials which are either less conductive or more conductive than the substrate to which they are attached. The effects of variation in layer thickness, and also the load, speed and friction coefficient, are evaluated.

Anomalous reduction of the switching voltage of Bi-doped Ge0.5Se0.5 ovonic threshold switching devices

Switching devices based on Ovonic Threshold Switching (OTS) have been considered as a solution to overcoming limitations of Si-based electronic devices, but the reduction of switching voltage is a major challenge. Here, we investigated the effect of Bi-doping in Ge0.5Se0.5 thin films on their thermal, optical, electrical properties, as well as on the characteristics of OTS devices. As Bi increased, it was found that both of the optical energy gap (Egopt) and the depth of trap states decreased resulting in a drastic reduction of the threshold voltage (Vth) by over 50%. In addition, Egopt was found to be about three times of the conduction activation energy for each composition. These results are explained in terms of the Mott delocalization effect by doping Bi.

Stress reduction behavior in metal-incorporated amorphous carbon films: first-principles approach

The stress reduction behavior in metal-incorporated amorphous carbon films was investigated by the first-principle calculation. We calculated the total energy of the system with changes in bond angles between the incorporated metal (Ti, Mo, Cr, W, Ag, Au, Al, Si, etc) and the carbon atoms by using DMOL3computational software package. The four carbon atoms are arranged as a tetrahedron, with a carbon or metal atom at the center. The total energy increased substantially as the bond angle deviated from the equilibrium value when a carbon atom is located at the tetrahedron center. However, with a replacement by a metal atom at the center of the tetrahedron, the increase in the total energy due to the distortion in bond angle was significantly reduced. The pivotal action of the metal atoms dissolved in the carbon matrix would be more significant when noble metals having filled d-shells are incorporated compared to the transition metals having unfilled d-shells. These atoms have a weak and more isotropic bond with carbon atoms as confirmed by the electron density distribution.

Analysis and improvement of interfacial adhesion of growth-dominant Ge-doped SbTe phase change materials

A semiquantitative characterization of the interfacial adhesion of phase change materials is developed, which consists of determining critical adhesion temperature (TCA) via measuring the probability of adhesion failure with temperature using patterned films. By comparison of TCA values, Ge-doped SbTe (Ge-ST) is shown to have weaker adhesion than Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), which results from its limited ability in relaxation of crystallization-induced stress. Nitrogen or oxygen doping in Ge-ST produces significant increase in TCA, close to that of GST. This improvement is due to smaller grain size of N-/O-doped Ge-ST, which facilitates the relaxation of the stress via grain boundary diffusion or sliding.