Crystallization Process of Superlattice-Like Sb/SiO2 Thin Films for Phase Change Memory Application**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 11774438, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under Grant No BK20151172, the Changzhou Science and Technology Bureau under Grant No CJ20160028, the Qing Lan Project, the Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials under

Abstract

After compositing with SiO2 layers, it is shown that superlattice-like Sb/SiO2 thin films have higher crystallization temperature (∼240°C), larger crystallization activation energy (6.22 eV), and better data retention ability (189°C for 10 y). The crystallization of Sb in superlattice-like Sb/SiO2thin films is restrained by the multilayer interfaces. The reversible resistance transition can be achieved by an electric pulse as short as 8 ns for the Sb(3 nm)/SiO2(7 nm)-based phase change memory cell. A lower operation power consumption of 0.09 mW and a good endurance of 3.0 × 106 cycles are achieved. In addition, the superlattice-like Sb(3 nm)/SiO2(7 nm) thin film shows a low thermal conductivity of 0.13 W/(m·K).