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Investigation of Phase Transition in Stacked Ge-Chalcogenide/SnTe Phase-change Memory Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Feiming Bai ,
Surendra Gupta ,
Archana Devasia ,
Santosh Kurinec ,
Morgan Davis  and
Kris A Campbell
Feiming Bai
Affiliation:
fmbemc@rit.edu, Rochester Insititute of Technology, Microelectronic Engineering, 82 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, 14623, United States
Surendra Gupta
Affiliation:
skgeme@rit.edu, Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester, NY, 14623, United States
Archana Devasia
Affiliation:
axd1830@rit.edu, Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Microelectronic Engineering, Rochester, NY, 14623, United States
Santosh Kurinec
Affiliation:
skkemc@rit.edu, Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Microelectronic Engineering, Rochester, NY, 14623, United States
Morgan Davis
Affiliation:
MorganDavis@mail.boisestate.edu, Boise State University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boise, ID, 83725, United States
Kris A Campbell
Affiliation:
KrisCampbell@boisestate.edu, Boise State University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boise, ID, 83725, United States
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Abstract

Phase transitions in stacked GeTe/SnTe and Ge2Se3/SnTe thin layers for potential phase-change memory applications have been investigated by X-ray diffraction using a two-dimensional area detector system. The as-deposited underlying GeTe or Ge2Se3 layer is amorphous, whereas the top SnTe layer is crystalline. In the GeTe/SnTe stack, the crystallization of GeTe phase occurs near 170°C, and upon further heating, the GeTe phase disappears, followed by the formation of rocksalt-structured GexSn1−xTe solid solution. In the Ge2Se3/SnTe stack, the phase transition starts with the separation of a SnSe phase due to the migration of Sn ions into the Ge2Se3 layer. SnSe is believed to facilitate the crystallization of Ge2Se3-SnTe solid solution at ∼360°C, which is much lower than the crystallization temperature of Ge2Se3, therefore consuming less power during the phase transition.

Keywords

x-ray diffraction (XRD)phase transformationmemory
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1056: Symposium HH – Nanophase and Nanocomposite Materials V , 2007 , 1056-HH11-70
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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References

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