Physical and electrical characteristics for Si-doped GeSb9 phase-change memory

A phase-change random access memory device, consisting of GeSb
₉
based chalcogenide, TiW electrode and SiO
₂
dielectric layer, was fabricated in order to investigate the electrical characteristic and failure mechanism. Amorphous Si-doped GeSb
₉
with high crystallization temperature (235°C) exhibits extremely good thermal stability. Ten year data retention of 164°C shows the remarkable device reliability. After the continuous voltage sweeping of 1.6 V, an unexpected failure was observed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image. The failure mechanism was clarified and Si-doped GeSb
₉
based PRAM material is concluded to be potential in virtue of its improved device reliability and thermal stability.