Yonghui Zheng

Reducing the stochasticity of crystal nucleation to enable subnanosecond memory writing

Fast phase change with no preconditions Random access memory (RAM) devices that rely on phase changes are primarily limited by the speed of crystallization. Rao et al. combined theory with a simple set of selection criteria to isolate a scandium-doped antimony telluride (SST) with a subnanosecond crystallization speed (see the Perspective by Akola and Jones). They synthesized SST and constructed a RAM device with a 700-picosecond writing speed. This is an order of magnitude faster than previous phase-change memory devices and competitive with consumer dynamic access, static random access, and flash memory. Science, this issue p. 1423; see also p. 1386 Computer-aided materials design helps to identify a subnanosecond phase-change random-access memory material. Operation speed is a key challenge in phase-change random-access memory (PCRAM) technology, especially for achieving subnanosecond high-speed cache memory. Commercialized PCRAM products are limited by the tens of nanoseconds writing speed, originating from the stochastic crystal nucleation during the crystallization of amorphous germanium antimony telluride (Ge2Sb2Te5). Here, we demonstrate an alloying strategy to speed up the crystallization kinetics. The scandium antimony telluride (Sc0.2Sb2Te3) compound that we designed allows a writing speed of only 700 picoseconds without preprogramming in a large conventional PCRAM device. This ultrafast crystallization stems from the reduced stochasticity of nucleation through geometrically matched and robust scandium telluride (ScTe) chemical bonds that stabilize crystal precursors in the amorphous state. Controlling nucleation through alloy design paves the way for the development of cache-type PCRAM technology to boost the working efficiency of computing systems.

A candidate Zr-doped Sb2Te alloy for phase change memory application

Here, Zr-doped Sb2Te alloy is proposed for phase change memory (PCM). Zr-doping enhances the crystallization temperature and thermal stability of Sb2Te alloy effectively. Crystalline Zr2(Sb2Te)98 film is manifested as a single phase without phase separation and the growth of crystal grain is dramatically suppressed. The density change of Zr2(Sb2Te)98 material between amorphous and crystalline is ∼2.65u2009±u20090.03%, which is much smaller than that of Ge2Sb2Te5 (6.5%). Phase change memory cells based on Zr2(Sb2Te)98 material can be reversibly switched by applying 40–400u2009ns width voltage pulses, and the reset current is relatively small when comparing with the prototypical Ge2Sb2Sb5 material. The resistance ON-OFF ratio of about 1.3 orders of magnitude is enough for figuring “0” and “1” out. Besides, endurance up to 4.1u2009×u2009104 cycles makes Zr-doped Sb2Te alloy a potential candidate for PCM.

Room-temperature ferromagnetism in zinc-blende and deformed CrAs thin films

We try to clarify the controversy about the origin of room-temperature ferromagnetism in a CrAs compound. Two kinds of CrAs thin films were grown on GaAs by molecular-beam epitaxy. Structural analyses confirm that the as-grown CrAs film is a pure zinc-blende phase. Magnetic measurements suggest that room-temperature ferromagnetism exists in zinc-blende CrAs. In contrast, the CrAs film turns into a mixture of zinc-blende and deformed CrAs after annealing. A ferromagnetic signal measured at room temperature demonstrates that zinc-blende CrAs remains room-temperature ferromagnetism even when it is partly deformed into a non-zinc-blende phase.

Cr-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 for ultra-long data retention phase change memory

Phase change memory is regarded as one of the most promising candidates for the next-generation non-volatile memory. Its storage medium, phase change material, has attracted continuous exploration. Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is the most popular phase change material, but its thermal stability needs to be improved when used in some fields at high temperature (more than 120u2009°C). In this paper, we doped Cr atoms into GST and obtained Cr10(Ge2Sb2Te5)90 (labeled as Cr-GST) with high thermal stability. For Cr-GST film, the sheet resistance ratio between amorphous and crystalline states is high up to 3 orders of magnitude. The crystalline Cr-GST film inherits the phase structure of GST, with metastable face-centered cubic phase and/or stable hexagonal phase. The doped Cr atoms not only bond with other atoms but also help to improve the anti-oxidation property of Cr-GST. As for the amorphous thermal stability, the calculated temperature for 10-year-data-retention of Cr-GST film, based on the Arrhenius equation, is about 180...

Direct observation of metastable face-centered cubic Sb2Te3 crystal

Although phase change memory technology has developed drastically in the past two decades, the cognition of the key switching materials still ignores an important member, the face-centered cubic Sb2Te3. Apart from the well-known equilibrium hexagonal Sb2Te3 crystal, we prove the metastable face-centered cubic Sb2Te3 phase does exist. Such a metastable crystal contains a large concentration of vacancies randomly occupying the cationic lattice sites. The face-centered cubic to hexagonal phase transformation of Sb2Te3, accompanied by vacancy aggregation, occurs at a quite lower temperature compared to that of Ge2Sb2Te5 alloy. We prove that the covalent-like bonds prevail in the metastable Sb2Te3 crystal, deviating from the ideal resonant features. If a proper doping technique is adopted, the metastable Sb2Te3 phase could be promising for realizing reversibly swift and low-energy phase change memory applications. Our study may offer a new insight into commercialized Ge–Sb–Te systems and help in the design of novel phase change materials to boost the performances of the phase change memory device.

Vanadium doped Sb2Te3 material with modified crystallization mechanism for phase-change memory application

In this paper, V0.21Sb2Te3 (VST) has been proposed for phase-change memory applications. With vanadium incorporating, VST has better thermal stability than Sb2Te3 and can maintain in amorphous phase at room temperature. Two resistance steps were observed in temperature dependent resistance measurements. By real-time observing the temperature dependent lattice structure evolution, VST presents as a homogenous phase throughout the whole thermal process. Combining Hall measurement and transmission electron microscopy results, we can ascribe the two resistance steps to the unique crystallization mechanism of VST material. Then, the amorphous thermal stability enhancement can also be rooted in the suppression of the fast growth crystallization mechanism. Furthermore, the applicability of VST is demonstrated by resistance-voltage measurement, and the phase transition of VST can be triggered by a 15u2009ns electric pulse. In addition, endurance up to 2.7×104 cycles makes VST a promising candidate for phase-change me...

High thermal stable and fast switching Ni-Ge-Te alloy for phase change memory applications

Ni-Ge-Te phase change material is proposed and investigated for phase change memory (PCM) applications. With Ni addition, the crystallization temperature, the data retention ability, and the crystallization speed are remarkably improved. The Ni-Ge-Te material has a high crystallization temperature (250u2009°C) and good data retention ability (149u2009°C). A reversible switching between SET and RESET state can be achieved by an electrical pulse as short as 6u2009ns. Up to ∼3u2009×u2009104 SET/RESET cycles are obtained with a resistance ratio of about two orders of magnitude. All of these demonstrate that Ni-Ge-Te alloy is a promising material for high speed and high temperature PCM applications.

Reversible Phase Change Characteristics of Cr-Doped Sb2Te3 Films with Different Initial States Induced by Femtosecond Pulses

As a kind of chalcogenide alloy, phase change material has been widely used as novel storage medium in optical disk or electrical memory. In this paper, femtosecond pulses are used to study the reversible phase transition processes of Cr-doped Sb2Te3 films with different initial states. The SET processes are all induced by multiple pulses and relate to the increase of crystallized partial in the irradiated spot. When the Cr concentration is 5.3 at % or 10.5 at %, the crystallization mechanism is still growth-dominated as Sb2Te3, which is beneficial for high speed and high density storage, whereas the necessary crystallization energy increases with more Cr-dopants, leading to higher amorphous thermal stability. RESET results by multiple pulses show that Cr-dopants will not increase the power consumption, and the increase in Cr-dopants could greatly increase the antioxidant capacity. Single-pulse experiments show that the RESET process involves the competition of melting/amorphization and recrystallization. The reversible SET/RESET results on different initial states are quite different from each other, which is mainly due to the different surroundings around the irradiated spot. Crystalline surroundings provide higher thermal conductivity and lead to easier crystallization, whereas amorphous surroundings were the reverse. All in all, Cr-doped Sb2Te3 films with suitable composition have advantages for storage with high density, better thermal stability, and lower power consumption; and the suitable initial states could ensure better reversible phase transition performances.

Surface Energy Driven Cubic-to-Hexagonal Grain Growth of Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Thin Film

Phase change memory (PCM) is a promising nonvolatile memory to reform current commercial computing system. Inhibiting face-centered cubic (f-) to hexagonal (h-) phase transition of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) thin film is essential for realizing high-density, high-speed, and low-power PCM. Although the atomic configurations of f- and h-lattices of GST alloy and the transition mechanisms have been extensively studied, the real transition process should be more complex than previous explanations, e.g. vacancy-ordering model for f-to-h transition. In this study, dynamic crystallization procedure of GST thin film was directly characterized by in situ heating transmission electron microscopy. We reveal that the equilibrium to h-phase is more like an abnormal grain growth process driven by surface energy anisotropy. More specifically, [0001]-oriented h-grains with the lowest surface energy grow much faster by consuming surrounding small grains, no matter what the crystallographic reconfigurations would be on the frontier grain-growth boundaries. We argue the widely accepted vacancy-ordering mechanism may not be indispensable for the large-scale f-to-h grain growth procedure. The real-time observations in this work contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the crystallization behavior of GST thin film and can be essential for guiding its optimization to achieve high-performance PCM applications.

Carbon doping induced Ge local structure change in as-deposited Ge2Sb2Te5 film by EXAFS and Raman spectrum

The local structure change of Ge induced by carbon doping in as-deposited Ge2Sb2Te5 films were studied by extended X-ray absorption fine structure and Raman spectrum. Ge-C bonds are formed at the expense of reducing the coordination of Ge-Ge and Ge-Te bonds, and make the local structure of Ge to be a well-defined tetrahedral geometry, which increases the rigidity of amorphous network and reduces the number of ABAB rings, thus the crystallization temperature of carbon-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 (CGST) films are enhanced. The reduced proportion of the tetrahedral units GeTe4−nGen (n = 1, 2) caused by carbon doping accounts for the weaker Raman peak intensity at ∼124 cm−1 in CGST films. Meanwhile, the impact of doping carbon on the crystalline structure of CGST films were investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscope.