Abstract
The phase change processes of as-deposited Sb-Zn films were investigated. The as-deposited amorphous SbZn film showed an unusual increase in resistance during heating, which was attributed to crystallization of the metastable SbZn phase. Further heating up to more than 300oC resulted in a structural transformation into the stable SbZn phase accompanied by a drop in resistance as in conventional phase change materials. Even though off-stoichiometric Sb-rich films exhibited crystallization into the metastable phase as well, the precipitation of Sb crystalline grains caused an undesirable drop in resistance at temperatures lower than that of the SbZn film. A memory device using an SbZn film showed typical switching behavior and successfully switched from the amorphous to crystal state and vice versa by the application of an electric pulse. These results revealed that stoichiometric SbZn film is a promising novel phase change material for phase change memory with high thermal stability.
Highlights
GeTe-Sb2Te3 pseudobinary alloys have been the most studied phase change materials (PCMs) and have achieved great success in their application in optical discs such as DVD and Blu-ray discs.[1]
A memory device using an SbZn film showed typical switching behavior and successfully switched from the amorphous to crystal state and vice versa by the application of an electric pulse. These results revealed that stoichiometric SbZn film is a promising novel phase change material for phase change memory with high thermal stability
The composition of the obtained films was determined in as-deposited samples by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS)
Summary
GeTe-Sb2Te3 pseudobinary alloys have been the most studied phase change materials (PCMs) and have achieved great success in their application in optical discs such as DVD and Blu-ray discs.[1] Due to the large optical contrast between the amorphous and crystalline states and to the large electrical contrast, PCMs have been considered for electrical non-volatile memory applications referred to as phase change random access memory (PCRAM).[2] PCRAM is a promising candidate for the generation non-volatile memory and extensive studies have been carried out on the replacement of conventional flash memory by PCRAM.[3,4] the data recording mechanism is the same in optical discs and electrical memory, i.e., the physical contrast between amorphous and crystalline states is used, the features required for PCMs are not always the same for different applications.[5] For instance, the higher thermal stability of the amorphous state is important in PCRAM application for long data retention at high temperature.[6] Recently, Te-free Sb-based PCMs, such as Ga-Sb,[7,8] Ge-Sb,[5,9] Sb-Si,[10,11] and Sb-Zn12–14 have been attracting great attention since Te is not an environment-friendly element and reacts with electrode materials such as Ti.[15,16] Antimony-based PCMs exhibit higher thermal stability because of their high crystallization temperatures, and show fast crystallization speeds because their growth-dominated
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