J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 86, 034601 (2017) [5 Pages]
« Previous Article | Next Article »
FULL PAPERS

Atomistic Structural Dynamics and Current Density Variations during the Transformation from Crystalline to Amorphous States in Tantalum Nanocontacts

Satoshi Murata, and Tokushi Kizuka
+ Affiliations
Division of Materials Science, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573, Japan
Received October 29, 2016; Accepted January 6, 2017; Published February 13, 2017

Pulsed voltages were applied to crystalline tantalum (Ta) nanocontacts (NCs) having a width of approximately 1 nm in a transmission electron microscope and the structural dynamics during their transformation to amorphous states was observed in situ at atomic resolution with simultaneous conductance measurements. Amorphization was caused when a Ta NC was the grain boundary, i.e., the orientations of the two regions adjacent to the contact boundary were different. The amorphous states transformed into crystalline states when the two regions were oriented along the same direction upon the application of the same pulsed voltage. Thus, it was found that the structural transformation of Ta NCs by pulsed voltages depends on the orientational relationship at the contact boundaries. The current density at the minimum cross-sectional area of the amorphized states decreased to 0.71–0.91 relative to that of the crystalline states.

©2017 The Physical Society of Japan
https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.86.034601

References

  • 1 B. J. van Wees, H. van Houten, C. W. J. Beenakker, J. G. Williamson, L. P. Kouwenhoven, D. van der Marel, and C. T. Foxon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 848 (1988). 10.1103/PhysRevLett.60.848 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 2 D. A. Wharam, T. J. Thornton, R. Newbury, M. Pepper, H. Ahmed, J. E. F. Frost, D. G. Hasko, D. C. Peacock, D. A. Ritchie, and G. A. C. Jones, J. Phys. C 21, L209 (1988). 10.1088/0022-3719/21/8/002 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 3 N. Agraït, J. G. Rodrigo, and S. Vieira, Phys. Rev. B 47, 12345 (1993). 10.1103/PhysRevB.47.12345 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 4 J. I. Pascual, J. Méndez, J. Gómez-Herrero, A. M. Baró, N. García, and V. T. Binh, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1852 (1993). 10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.1852 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 5 M. Brandbyge, J. Schiøtz, M. R. Sørensen, P. Stoltze, K. W. Jacobsen, J. K. Nørskov, L. Olesen, E. Lægsgaard, I. Stensgaard, and F. Besenbacher, Phys. Rev. B 52, 8499 (1995). 10.1103/PhysRevB.52.8499 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 6 J. L. Costa-Krämer, N. García, P. García-Mochales, and P. A. Serena, Surf. Sci. 342, L1144 (1995). 10.1016/0039-6028(95)00967-1 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 7 J. M. Krans, J. M. van Ruitenbeek, V. V. Fisun, I. K. Yanson, and L. J. de Jongh, Nature 375, 767 (1995). 10.1038/375767a0 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 8 G. Rubio, N. Agraït, and S. Vieira, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2302 (1996). 10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.2302 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 9 C. Sirvent, J. G. Rodrigo, S. Vieira, L. Jurczyszyn, N. Mingo, and F. Flores, Phys. Rev. B 53, 16086 (1996). 10.1103/PhysRevB.53.16086 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 10 A. Stalder and U. Dürig, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 14, 1259 (1996). 10.1116/1.588527 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 11 J. L. Costa-Krämer, Phys. Rev. B 55, R4875 (1997). 10.1103/PhysRevB.55.R4875 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 12 H. Yasuda and A. Sakai, Phys. Rev. B 56, 1069 (1997). 10.1103/PhysRevB.56.1069 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 13 K. Itakura, K. Yuki, S. Kurokawa, H. Yasuda, and A. Sakai, Phys. Rev. B 60, 11163 (1999). 10.1103/PhysRevB.60.11163 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 14 H. Häkkinen, R. N. Barnett, A. G. Scherbakov, and U. Landman, J. Phys. Chem. B 104, 9063 (2000). 10.1021/jp002691r Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 15 B. Ludoph and J. M. van Ruitenbeek, Phys. Rev. B 61, 2273 (2000). 10.1103/PhysRevB.61.2273 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 16 C. Q. Sun, H. L. Bai, S. Li, B. K. Tay, C. Li, T. P. Chen, and E. Y. Jiang, J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 2162 (2004). 10.1021/jp035815j Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 17 C. Q. Sun, C. M. Li, S. Li, and B. K. Tay, Phys. Rev. B 69, 245402 (2004). 10.1103/PhysRevB.69.245402 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 18 A. Fujii, M. Tsutsui, S. Kurokawa, and A. Sakai, Phys. Rev. B 72, 045407 (2005). 10.1103/PhysRevB.72.045407 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 19 T. Kizuka, Phys. Rev. B 77, 155401 (2008). 10.1103/PhysRevB.77.155401 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 20 J. M. Krans, C. J. Muller, I. K. Yanson, T. C. M. Govaert, R. Hesper, and J. M. van Ruitenbeek, Phys. Rev. B 48, 14721 (1993). 10.1103/PhysRevB.48.14721 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 21 L. Olesen, E. Laegsgaard, I. Stensgaard, F. Besenbacher, J. Schiøtz, P. Stoltze, K. W. Jacobsen, and J. K. Nørskov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2251 (1994). 10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.2251 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 22 D. den Boer, O. J. Shklyarevskii, and S. Speller, Physica B 395, 20 (2007). 10.1016/j.physb.2007.02.016 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 23 I. K. Yanson, O. I. Shklyarevskii, J. M. van Ruitenbeek, and S. Speller, Phys. Rev. B 77, 033411 (2008). 10.1103/PhysRevB.77.033411 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 24 T. Kizuka and K. Monna, Phys. Rev. B 80, 205406 (2009). 10.1103/PhysRevB.80.205406 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 25 T. N. Todorov and A. P. Sutton, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2138 (1993). 10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.2138 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 26 A. M. Bratkovsky, A. P. Sutton, and T. N. Todorov, Phys. Rev. B 52, 5036 (1995). 10.1103/PhysRevB.52.5036 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 27 T. Kizuka, Phys. Rev. B 57, 11158 (1998). 10.1103/PhysRevB.57.11158 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 28 L. Zhong, J. Wang, H. Sheng, Z. Zhang, and S. X. Mao, Nature 512, 177 (2014). 10.1038/nature13617 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 29 T. Kizuka, K. Yamada, S. Deguchi, M. Naruse, and N. Tanaka, Phys. Rev. B 55, R7398 (1997). 10.1103/PhysRevB.55.R7398 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 30 T. Kizuka, H. Ohmi, T. Sumi, K. Kumazawa, S. Deguchi, M. Naruse, S. Fujisawa, S. Sasaki, A. Yabe, and Y. Enomoto, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 40, L170 (2001). 10.1143/JJAP.40.L170 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 31 (Supplemental Material) Movie 1 corresponding to Fig. 1 is provided online. Google Scholar
  • 32 S. G. Epstein and A. Paskin, Phys. Lett. A 24, 309 (1967). 10.1016/0375-9601(67)90596-8 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 33 Electromigration and Electronic Device Degradation, ed. A. Christou (Wiley, New York, 1994). Google Scholar
  • 34 K. N. Tu, J. Appl. Phys. 94, 5451 (2003). 10.1063/1.1611263 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 35 C. M. Tan and A. Roy, Mater. Sci. Eng. 58, 1 (2007). 10.1016/j.mser.2007.04.002 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 36 I. Dutta and P. Kumar, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 184104 (2009). 10.1063/1.3119219 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 37 P. Kumar, J. Howarth, and I. Dutta, J. Appl. Phys. 115, 044915 (2014). 10.1063/1.4863641 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 38 T. Matsuda and T. Kizuka, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 46, 4370 (2007). 10.1143/JJAP.46.4370 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 39 T. Matsuda and T. Kizuka, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 48, 115003 (2009). 10.1143/JJAP.48.115003 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 40 (Supplemental Material) Movie 2 (a video of high-resolution images of a Ta NC having a width larger than 10 nm during the application of pulsed voltages) is provided online. Google Scholar
  • 41 (Supplemental Material) Movie 3 corresponding to Fig. 4 is provided online. Google Scholar
  • 42 T. Matsuda, N. Shiotani, and U. Mizutani, J. Phys. F 14, 1193 (1984). 10.1088/0305-4608/14/5/015 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 43 U. Mizutani and K. Yoshino, J. Phys. F 14, 1179 (1984). 10.1088/0305-4608/14/5/014 Crossref, Google Scholar
  • 44 P. W. Bridgman, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 47, 347 (1911). 10.2307/20022750 Crossref, Google Scholar
« Previous Article | Next Article »
 
JPS | Copyright & Permission | Privacy Policy | Contact | 
Copyright © 2023 The Physical Society of Japan