Regensburg 2007 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik

HL 46: Poster 2

HL 46.64: Poster

Donnerstag, 29. März 2007, 15:00–17:30, Poster A

Correlation between structural, optical and electrical properties and the suitability of phase change alloys — •Michael Woda, Christoph Steimer, Daniel Wamwangi, and Matthias Wuttig — I. Insitute of Physics (IA), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

Phase change random access memory (PCRAM) is a very promising candidate to replace Flash memories employed in the non-volatile storage sector. In the active region of this emerging memory, a phase change material is found. This class of materials is already used in rewritable optical data storage. In both application areas the reversible switching between the amorphous and the crystalline state by short current or laser pulses, respectively is used to store data.

A key question that has not yet been answered regards the optimum choice of materials for phase change recording. We present a material selection strategy which classifies carefully chosen alloys, being representative for a larger selection of phase change materials, regarding their suitability for non-volatile storage applications.

XRD and XRR measurements reveal structural properties of the as-deposited, amorphous and the crystalline state, the corresponding local bond arrangements and the change of film density. Ellipsometry measurements determine the optical contrast of the samples while the temperature dependent resistivity is measured by four point probe experiments. Finally the electrical switching behaviour is tested in nanometer size test cells to validate the full functionality of the chosen materials.