Thermodynamics of second phase conductive filaments

TL;DR

This paper develops a thermodynamic theory for second phase conductive filaments in phase change systems, explaining their electrical behavior and enabling efficient simulations for applications like memory and switches.

Contribution

It introduces a thermodynamic model for filament parameters and current-voltage characteristics, aligning with experimental data and extending to transient analysis.

Findings

Filament current-voltage curves show negative differential resistance.

Predicted filament behavior matches published experimental data.

Model allows for efficient numerical simulation of filament dynamics.

Abstract

We present a theory of second phase conductive filaments in phase transformable systems; applications include threshold switches, phase change memory, and shunting in thin film structures. We show that the average filament parameters can be described thermodynamically. In agreement with the published data, the predicted filament current voltage characteristics exhibit negative differential resistance vanishing at high currents where the current density becomes a bulk material property. Our description is extendible to filament transients and allows for efficient numerical simulation.