The dependence of crystallization on temperature in the nanosecond timescale for GeTe-based fast phase-change resistor

Highlights: • We propose an approach to study the fast crystallization of GeTe using a phase change resistor (PCR) when staircase-shaped pulses are applied. • We demonstrate that the crystallization regions widen via increasing the width of the second subpulse. • The pulse-dependent-recrystallization-temperature after the second pulse applied is estimated via both experiment and simulation. • We demonstrate that the crystallization of the GeTe-PCR is faster than that of GST due to the high pulse-dependent-recrystallization-temperature and low activation energy. We propose an approach to study the dependence of crystallization on temperature of GeTe-based phase change resistor (PCR) for staircase-shaped voltage pulses. We tune the resistance between the amorphous and crystalline states via varying the width of second subpulse. Then, the crystallized fractions are calculated as a function of the second subpulse widths. Furthermore, the temperature distributions under variable second subpulses are analyzed. At last, the pulse-dependent-recrystallization-temperatures are estimated using experimental and simulation results. We demonstrate that the crystallization of the GeTe-PCR is faster than that of Ge₂Sb₂Te₅-PCR due to the high pulse-dependent-recrystallization-temperature and low activation energy.