Investigation of Cu–Sn–Se material for high-speed phase-change memory applications

Abstract

Cu–Sn–Se material was prepared by magnetron sputtering to investigate its potential application in phase change memory. The amorphous-to-crystalline transition was studied by in situ film resistance measurements. Cu–Sn–Se material had lower activation energy for crystallization (1.60 eV) and higher crystallization resistance than SnSe. The amorphous Cu–Sn–Se had more narrow band gap compared to SnSe. After the adding of Cu, the crystallization of Cu–Sn–Se material was inhibited and the grain structure became more compact. The picosecond laser pulse measurement indicated that Cu–Sn–Se material had a fast phase change speed (3.36 ns). The results demonstrated that Cu–Sn–Se material was a promising phase change material which had low power and high speed application in phase change memory.