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中国物理学会期刊

质子入射锗锑碲相变材料产生的位移损伤模拟

Simulation of displacement damage induced by proton irradiation in germanium-antimony-tellurium phase change materials

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  • 锗锑碲(germanium-antimony-tellurium, GST)合金凭借快速可逆的晶态-非晶态相变特性、优异的热稳定性及数据保持能力,成为相变存储器(phase change memory, PCM)的主流功能存储材料。随着商用卫星产业的快速发展,复杂空间环境对相变存储器的可靠性提出严峻挑战,其中低能质子辐照在相变材料中引发的位移损伤效应,是影响其存储性能与服役稳定性的关键因素之一。本文采用Geant4模拟软件,系统探究了三种主流GST合金在1~1000 MeV质子辐照下的位移损伤效应,通过模拟质子在靶材中发生的弹性碰撞、非弹性碰撞等物理过程,获取了初级离位原子(primary knock-on atom, PKA)的相关信息,以及非电离能量损失(non-ionizing energy loss, NIEL)的数值与深度分布规律。研究发现:1 MeV质子产生的NIEL值最大,所产生的晶格位移损伤不容忽视;质子发生核反应的概率随能量升高而增大;1~100 MeV质子的NIEL深度分布会在射程末端形成明显的布拉格峰,且峰位随质子能量升高逐渐向前偏移;200~1000 MeV质子入射后,因库伦散射截面较小,其布拉格峰特征不显著,NIEL主要分布在射程前部,且随质子能量升高呈下降趋势。引入屏蔽层后,低能质子在GST层产生的非电离能量损失受屏蔽层材料与厚度的共同调控,相同厚度下,钨屏蔽层降低GST层非电离能量损失的效果优于二氧化硅屏蔽层,当钨屏蔽层厚度达到6 μm时,可显著降低低能质子在GST层产生的位移损伤。

     

    Germanium-antimony-tellurium (GST) alloys have emerged as dominant functional storage materials for phase change memory (PCM) due to their reversible crystalline-amorphous phase transition, outstanding thermal stability and reliable data retention capability. Driven by the booming development of the commercial satellite industry, PCM devices are confronted with severe reliability threats originating from space radiation environments. Specifically, the displacement damage effect induced by proton irradiation has been regarded as a critical factor deteriorating the storage performance and long-term service stability of phase-change materials. In this work, Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation was adopted to systematically explore the displacement damage effects of three typical GST alloys under proton irradiation in the energy range of 1~1000 MeV. Physical interactions including elastic and inelastic collisions between incident protons and target materials were numerically simulated, and key parameters of primary knock-on atoms (PKAs), the magnitude of non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) and its in-depth distribution characteristics were quantitatively obtained. The simulation results demonstrate that 1 MeV protons yield the maximum NIEL, leading to non-negligible lattice displacement damage within GST materials. The nuclear reaction probability of incident protons increases monotonically with the elevation of proton energy. For protons with energies of 1~100 MeV, distinct Bragg peaks can be observed at the terminal range in NIEL depth distributions, and the peak positions gradually shift forward as proton energy increases. In contrast, protons with energies of 200~1000 MeV exhibit unremarkable Bragg features due to the reduced Coulomb scattering cross-section. In this energy interval, NIEL is primarily concentrated in the front range and declines with the increase of proton energy. Furthermore, the introduction of shielding layers can effectively modulate the NIEL deposition induced by low-energy protons in GST layers through the synergistic effects of shielding material species and layer thickness. At identical thicknesses, tungsten (W) shielding layers possess a superior NIEL mitigation capability compared to silicon dioxide (SiO2). Notably, a 6 μm-thick tungsten shielding layer can significantly suppress the proton-induced displacement damage in GST alloys.

     

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