Phase Change Memory (PCM) is regarded as one of the most promising candidates for the next-generation nonvolatile memory. Its storage medium, phase change material, has attracted continuous exploration. Sb2Te3 is a high-speed phase change material matrix with low crystallization temperature. Cr-doped Sb2Te3 (CST) films with suitable composition have been studied and proved to be a promising novel phase change material with high speed and good thermal stability. In this paper, detailed Rs-T characteristics and Hall characteristics of the CST films are studied. We find that, when more parts of the film crystallizes into the ordered structure, the activation energy for electrical conduction (Eσ) decreases, indicating that the semiconductor property is weakened. And with the increase of Cr-dopants, Eσ of the As-deposited (As-de) amorphous CST films decreases, thus the thermal stability of resistance is improved. Hall results show that Sb2Te3 and CST films are all in P-type. For As-de amorphous films, with the increase of Cr-dopants, the carrier mobility decreases all along, while the carrier density decreases at first and then increases. For the crystalline films, with the increase of Cr-dopants, the carrier mobility decreases, while the carrier density increases.
The Femtosecond laser pulse induced phase transition dynamics of Cr-doped Sb2Te1 films was studied by real-time reflectivity measurements with a pump-probe system. It was found that crystallization of the as-deposited CrxSb2Te1 phase-change thin films exhibits a multi-stage process lasting for about 40ns.The time required for the multi-stage process seems to be not related to the contents of Cr element. The durations of the crystallization and amorphization processes are approximately the same. Doping Cr into Sb2Te1 thin film can improve its photo-thermal stability without obvious change in the crystallization rate. Optical images and image intensity cross sections are used to visualize the transformed regions. This work may provide further insight into the phase-change mechanism of CrxSb2Te1 under extra-non-equilibrium conditions and aid to develop new ultrafast phase-change memory materials.
A three-dimensional finite element model for Phase-Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM) is established to simulate thermal and electrical distribution during RESET operation. The establishment of the model is highly in accordance with the manufacture of PCRAM cell in the 40nm process and the model is applied to simulate the RESET behaviors of 35 nm diameter of titanium nitride (TiN) bottom electrode in the conventional mushroom structure (MS). By the simulations of thermal and electrical distribution, the highest temperature is observed in TiN bottom electrode contactor and meanwhile the voltage of the TiN bottom electrode accounts for as high as 65 percent of the total voltage. It induces high RESET current which suggests that the thermoelectric conductivity of MS is crucial in improving the heating efficiency in RESET process. Simulation results of RESET current and high resistance distribution during RESET operation are close to the data from the actual measurement. However those two values of low resistance are slightly different, probably due to the interface resistance between Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) and other materials and the resistance caused by microstructural defects. This work reveals the importance of the thermoelectrical properties of materials in PCRAM cells and improves the quality of PCRAM simulations in industrial application.
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