Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41530158›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

On-device cryogenic quenching enables robust amorphous tellurium for threshold switching.

Namwook Hur, Seunghwan Kim, Yu Bin Park, Changhwan Kim, Sohui Yoon, Youngseok Cho, Tae Hoon Lee, Joonki Suh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Namwook HurDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-2410-4196
Seunghwan KimDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Yu Bin ParkSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-1116-8739
Changhwan KimDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
Sohui YoonDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
Youngseok ChoDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Tae Hoon LeeSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. thl@knu.ac.kr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5553-5123
Joonki SuhDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea. joonki.suh@kaist.ac.kr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0221-8447

Funding

National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) RS-2024-00336695National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) RS-2025-12602968National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) RS-2025-23323754
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Amorphous chalcogenide alloys exhibiting crystallization-free Ovonic threshold switching behaviour have gained immense attention as selector materials. While the switching characteristics depend on the chalcogen species, understanding device-level elemental behaviour, particularly for tellurium (Te), remains challenging due to its low crystallization temperature and poor glass-forming ability. Here, we realize an electrothermally induced amorphous Te (a-Te) phase via on-device cryogenic quenching, which rapidly suppresses crystallization in the supercooled liquid at low ambient temperature. The order-to-disorder transition yields a ~ 0.81 V increase in threshold voltage and a ~ 10³ reduction in subthreshold current, attributed to enhanced deep-level trap formation. The a-Te phase exhibits reliable self-regulated oscillations, driven by deep traps, distinguishing it from conventional capacitance-driven effects. These findings support that the threshold switching in Te originates from defect-mediated transitions occurring before melting, rather than solely from thermal phase-change effects. Our results provide insights into chalcogenide switching mechanisms and pave the way for stoichiometry-tuned selector devices, nano-oscillators, and selector-only memory applications.

Identifiers

PMID41530158
PMCPMC12891486

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.