Phase change material (pcm) switch with variably spaced spreader layer structures and methods of forming the same

A method of forming a phase change device, comprising:

• forming a heater layer;
• forming a phase change material (PCM) layer on the heater layer;
• and
• forming a spreader layer in proximity to the PCM layer, wherein the forming of the spreader layer comprises:
• forming a central region of the spreader layer to include a first plurality of thermally conductive structures having a first density;
• and
• forming an edge region of the spreader layer to include a second plurality of thermally conductive structures having a second density different than the first density.

A radio frequency (RF) transceiver system for a communication device, comprising:

• an antenna;
• an RF component section including a plurality of RF components;
• and
• a switching module coupled to both the antenna and the RF component section, including a plurality of phase change devices for switching a signal transmission path between the antenna and the plurality of RF components, each phase change device of the plurality of phase change devices comprising:
• a heater layer;
• a phase change material (PCM) layer on the heater layer;
• and
• a spreader layer formed in proximity to the PCM layer, comprising:
• a central region comprising a first plurality of thermally conductive structures having a first density;
• and
• an edge region comprising a second plurality of thermally conductive structures having a second density different than the first density.