Constrained codes for phase-change memories

Abstract

Phase-change memories (PCMs) are an important emerging non-volatile memory technology that uses amorphous and crystalline cell states to store data. The cell states are switched using high temperatures. As the semi-stable states of PCM cells are sensitive to temperatures, scaling down cell sizes can bring significant challenges. We consider two potential thermal-based interference problems as the cell density approaches its limit, and study new constrained codes for them.