Crystal Growth Suppression by N-Doping into Chalcogenide for Application to Next-Generation Phase Change Memory

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the effect of the N-doping on microstructure and electrical properties of chalcogenide Ge2Sb2Te5(GST) films for application to multilevel-storage phase change memory (PCM). Crystal size can be markedly reduced from 16 nm to 5 nm by N-doping into GST. The crystal growth suppression is believed to be controlled by distributed fine nitride particles. The resistivity of N-GST as a function of annealing temperature exhibits a gradual change due to the crystal growth suppression. The characteristics imply that N-GST is suitable for application to multilevel-storage PCM as the next-generation nonvolatile memory.