Al-Sb-Ge phase change material: A candidate for multilevel data storage with high-data retention and fast speed.

Abstract The phase change memory with Al-Sb-Ge alloy is investigated for the feasibility of embedded system and the potential possibility of multilevel data storage. The Al 15 Sb 53 Ge 32 compound has a high crystallization temperature (333 °C) and outstanding data retention ability (260 °C). Ge atoms inhibit crystal growth to enhance thermal stability and Al 15 Sb 53 Ge 32 contains sequential crystallization of Sb-rich and Ge regions in two-step crystallization process. Remarkably, the device presents a fast speed of 50 ns and endurance up to 2.3 × 104 cycles. At the same time, a reliable tripe-level resistance state of the phase change memory cell is observed. Graphical abstract The phase change memory with Al-Sb-Ge alloy is investigated for the feasibility of embedded system and the potential possibility of multilevel data storage. Compared with conventional CGST, the selected composition of Al 15 Sb 53 Ge 32 has a higher crystallization temperature and an outstanding 10-year data retention temperature, especially maintains the fast operation speed in devices. Besides, the thickness variation between amorphous and crystalline states is distinctly reduced below 3.6% prolonging the lifetime of a PCM device. TEM results prove that the grain growth is suppressed by Ge atoms, resulting in good thermal stability. Moreover, the sequential crystallization of Sb-rich and Ge regions may be advantageously used for multilevel data storage. For PCM cells based on Al 15 Sb 53 Ge 32 material, a fast speed of 50 ns and a high endurance of more than 2.3 × 104 are all demonstrated to be realized and a reliable tripe-level resistance state of the phase change memory cell is observed. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]