Scandium-based material for data storage applications
Scandium-based materials e.g. Sc-doped SnSb4 are excellent options for phase change data storage (PCRAM) applications in the future.
Introduction
Phase change random access memory (PCRAM) has garnered global attention as a new-generation storage technology. It holds great promise as a non-volatile memory technology, owing to its high embeddability, exceptional re-writability, high endurance, and compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes. The mechanism of data storage in PCRAM is based on the reversible phase change induced by the Joule heating of the pulse current between the amorphous and crystalline states. The amorphous state of PCRAM shows high resistivity whereas the crystalline state exhibits low resistivity, which correspond to ‘‘0’’ and ‘‘1’’ in data storage respectively.
No investigations have been conducted on Sc doping in SnSb4 thin films. In this study, we aim to elucidate the properties of Sc-doped SnSb4. Our results indicate that Sc-doping can enable both rapid phase change and high thermal stability in SnSb4. Furthermore, we employ atomic and electronic structure analyses to investigate the underlying phase change mechanism in Sc-doped SnSb4clusion
In this study, we have demonstrated that Sn22Sb76Sc2 thin film exhibits exceptional performance in terms of high thermal stability and ultra-fast phase change speed, as supported by experiments and first-principles calculations. Our findings reveal that the ten-year data retention of Sn22Sb76Sc2 thin film significantly increases from 54°C (SnSb4) to 166°C, which is substantially higher than that of GST (85°C). The high thermal stability of Sn22Sb76Sc2 thin film primarily stems from the formation of Sn-Sc bonds, as Sc atoms are doped into SnSb4 and bonded to Sn atoms. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the Sn22Sb76Sc2-based device can achieve a reversible SET/RESET operation within 20 ns, which is significantly faster than that of GST (100 ns). Importantly, the ultra-fast phase change speed of Sn22Sb76Sc2 thin film is not compromised by the increased thermal stability. And the power consumption of the device is approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of GST, measuring 1.1 × 10−11J. Overall, our findings underscore the remarkable performance of the novel Sn22Sb76Sc2 thin film in terms of high thermal stability, fast phase change speed, and low energy consumption. And this new PCM holds great promise for advancing PCRAM technology.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022309323002612