Improved thermal stability of Sb materials by SiO₂ doping for ultra-fast phase change memory application

SiO₂-doped Sb material is proved to be a promising candidate for phase change memory (PCM) use because of its high crystallization temperature (∼239 °C), large crystallization activation energy (4.05 eV), and good data retention ability (162 °C for 10 years). The band gap is broadened and the grain size is refined by SiO₂ doping. The reversible resistance transition can be achieved by an electric pulse as short as 5 ns for the PCM cell based on SiO₂-doped Sb material. A lower operation power consumption (the energy for RESET operation 1.1 × 10⁻¹¹ J) is obtained. In addition, SiO₂-doped Sb material shows a good endurance of 2.5 × 10⁵ cycles. - Highlights: • SiO₂-doped Sb material were investigated in details for its potential application in phase change memory. • The resistance and thermal stability of Sb materials were greatly improved after SiO₂-doping. • The ultra-fast switching speed of 5 ns and low power 1.1 × 10⁻¹¹ J were obtained for SiO₂-doped Sb material. • The structural and stress analysis was carried out by X-ray diffraction and Atomic Force Microscope, respectively. • The SiO₂-doped Sb was a promising candidate for low power and high-speed PCM applications.