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C/Sb Superlattice-Like Films with High Thermal Stability and Low Power Consumption for Phase-Change Memory

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Abstract

The physical properties and device electrical properties of superlattice-like C/Sb phase change films are investigated. Compared with Sb monolayer films, the superlattice-like C/Sb films have preferable thermal stability, including higher crystallization temperature, longer data life, and larger crystallization activation energy. As the thickness of the carbon layer increases, the band gap gradually increases. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that C-Sb bonds exist in the C/Sb superlattice-like films. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscope results show that the addition of carbon inhibits the grain growth, making the grain size smaller and inhibiting the crystallization of Sb materials. Phase-change memory devices based on [C(6nm)/Sb(4nm)]8 superlattice-like films have smaller threshold voltages and lower power consumption compared to Sb films. In conclusion, C/Sb superlattice-like films have high thermal stability and low power consumption.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12074152 and 11974008). Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Information Functional Materials (SKL2020). Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu University of Technology (No. XSJCX22_60).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematics and Physics, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China

    Xiaotian Zeng, Xiaoqin Zhu & Yifeng Hu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Micro-System and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China

    Zhitang Song

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  1. Xiaotian Zeng
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  2. Xiaoqin Zhu
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Correspondence to Xiaoqin Zhu or Yifeng Hu.

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Zeng, X., Zhu, X., Hu, Y. et al. C/Sb Superlattice-Like Films with High Thermal Stability and Low Power Consumption for Phase-Change Memory. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 5594–5600 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-09797-z

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