Balance between thermal stability and operation speed realized by Ti gradient doping in Sb₂Te₃ phase-change memory

Phase-change memory (PCM) is one of the leading candidates for the next generation nonvolatile memory. As a growth-dominated crystalline material, Sb2Te3 is of rapid crystallization speed while its poor thermal stability limits its application. Doping Ti can significantly enhance its amorphous stability but inevitably slows down its crystallization speed. How to balance the contradiction between thermal stability and operation speed remains challenging. In this work, we proposed a gradient Ti-doped Sb2Te3 phase-change material and device. This gradient doping strategy compensates for the negative effect of Ti doping on the crystallization rate of Sb2Te3 via the template effect of the lower doping concentration layer. Very small lattice mismatch between the Sb2Te3 layers with different Ti doping concentrations is verified by x-ray diffraction characterization. The crystallization temperature of a gradient Ti-doped Sb2Te3 thin film is raised up to 172.6 degrees C and the same 50 ns operation speed as a pure Sb2Te3 device is achieved in the corresponding PCM device. Furthermore, the gradient distribution of Ti elements and the corresponding progressive crystallization phenomenon are verified by transmission electron microscopy revealing the microscopic origin of rapid crystallization speed. Therefore, with our gradient doping strategy, the amorphous stability is improved without sacrificing the crystallization speed in PCM.