Improved thermal stability and power consumption performances of Ge1Sb9 phase change thin films via doping yttrium.

The effect of yttrium doping on the phase transition properties and crystal structure of Ge1Sb9 thin films was studied. Y-doped Ge1Sb9 thin films have higher crystallization temperature (218 °C) and data retention capacity (141.2 °C for 10 years), revealing that Y doping improves amorphous thermal stability. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis show that the addition of yttrium could inhibit grain growth and restrict the grain size due to the formation of amorphous Y and Ge components. X-ray reflectivity results show that yttrium doping results in less volume change, which predicts the enhanced performance stability of the device. A T-shaped phase change memory cell based on the Y0.26(Ge1Sb9)0.74 films exhibits a faster operation speed (100 ns) and lower power consumption (2.4 × 10−10 J) than traditional Ge2Sb2Te5 materials. The results reveal that Y-doped Ge1Sb9 is a phase change memory material with good structural properties and device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]