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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