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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik
MM 63: Functional Materials: Performance, Reliability and Degradation
MM 63.3: Talk
Thursday, March 21, 2024, 16:00–16:15, C 230
Optimizing In3SbTe2 crystallization towards phase change memory application — •Yiming Zhou and Matthias Wuttig — I. Institute of Physics (IA), RWTH Aachen University, Sommerfeldstraße 14, 52074, Aachen, Germany
Traditional phase change materials like Ge2Sb2Te5 are characterized by their low crystallization temperatures, resulting in insufficient data retention. In contrast, In3SbTe2, an indium-based chalcogenide, exhibits remarkable characteristics including notably high crystallization temperatures and resistance contrasts. However, its multi-stage crystallization process has raised challenges to switching reliability and device endurance. To address this problem, an investigation into the crystallization behavior of In3SbTe2 through controlled annealing processes has been conducted.
The large density changes during the crystallization process and the as-deposited crystallite contribute to the adhesion problem. This gives rise to the strain relaxation-induced crystallization behavior. With the Te adhesion layer, the operational stability range for In3SbTe2 crystallization can be significantly expanded. Moreover, manipulating the thickness of the Te adhesive layer can tune the preferred orientation for In3SbTe2 crystallization.
This refined crystallization study has culminated in the fabrication of confined and nano-bridge phase change memory devices. Notably, a marked enhancement in yield has been observed for both device architectures, representing substantial progress toward practical implementation.
Keywords: Phase change materials; Crystallization; Non-volatile memory; InSbTe