Sb-rich Zn–Sb–Te phase-change materials: A candidate for the trade-off between crystallization speed and data retention

Abstract

We explored the structural and physical properties of Sb-rich Zn–Sb–Te films in order to combine the good thermal stability of ZnSb with the high crystallization speed of Sb2Te. The films generally exhibit two different crystallization characteristics described as follows: amorphous → Sb2Te crystalline phase if the Zn content in the film is less than ∼10 at. % and amorphous → Sb crystalline phase if the Zn content is more than ∼10 at. %. Among the films, the Zn28.62Sb53.69Te17.69 film was found to show the highest crystallization temperature (∼255 °C), best 10 year data retention (∼165.9 °C), and shortest crystallization time of ∼58 ns at 70 mW with a stable rhombohedral Sb phase; thus, it is considered promising for phase-change memory applications.