A self-aligned process for phase-change material nanowire confined within metal electrode nanogap

A self-aligned fabrication process is presented by which phase-change material nanowire (NW) perfectly confined within metal electrode nanogap based on electron-beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching process. Lateral phase-change random access memory device fabrication is demonstrated by this process with Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 NW confined within 39 nm tungsten electrode nanogap and the electrical characterizations are illustrated. It is found that the threshold current is only 2 μ A and the dc power consumption is remarkably low. The process is simple, flexible and achieves localization filling. In addition, the process can be easily transferred to other types of phase-change and nanoelectronics materials.