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Stacked chalcogenide layers used as multi-state storage medium for phase change memory

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Abstract

The multi-state storage capability of phase-change memory (PCM) was confirmed by using stacked chalcogenide layers as storage medium. The stacked films were prepared by stacking a pure Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) layer, a tungsten layer and a silicon-doped GST layer. The electrical properties of the stacked films were also investigated. The results show that there are two negative differential resistance areas in the current-voltage (I–V) curve and three steps with three relatively stable resistance values in the resistance-voltage (R–V) curve, which indicate that the multi-state storage of PCM can be realized by using this stacked film structure. Qualitative analysis reveals that the multi-state storage capability of this stacked film structure is due to the successive crystallizations in a silicon-doped GST layer and a pure GST layer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Fabrication Technology, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200030, P.R. China

    Y.F. Lai, J. Feng, B.W. Qiao & B.C. Cai

  2. National Key Laboratory of ASIC & System, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P.R. China

    Y.F. Cai, Y.Y. Lin & T.A. Tang

  3. Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., 1171 Sonora Court, Sunnyvale, CA, 94086, USA

    B. Chen

Authors
  1. Y.F. Lai
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  2. J. Feng
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  3. B.W. Qiao
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  4. Y.F. Cai
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  5. Y.Y. Lin
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  6. T.A. Tang
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  7. B.C. Cai
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  8. B. Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Feng.

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PACS

64.60.Cn; 71.55.Jv; 85.30.De; 85.30.Fg

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Lai, Y., Feng, J., Qiao, B. et al. Stacked chalcogenide layers used as multi-state storage medium for phase change memory. Appl. Phys. A 84, 21–25 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-006-3571-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-006-3571-7

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