Dual mechanism synergistic optimization of thermal stability and power consumption of Sb3Te phase-change random access memory

With the rapid development of data storage technology, the research on phase-change memory materials has attracted much attention. In this study, C and Re co-doped Sb3Te films were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The effects of different C contents in co-doping on the properties of Sb3Te films were systematically explored, and the results showed that co-doping increased the crystallization temperature to 231 °C, and the 10-year data retention temperature reached 151.8 °C. The film thickness (∼1.73%) and the surface roughness changed little before and after crystallization. The Re dopant enters the crystal lattice and forms a stable Re–Te bond with Te, which effectively stabilizes the precursor structure and promotes rapid crystallization. The introduction of element C tends to form clusters at the grain boundaries, which improves the thermal stability and inhibits grain growth. The performance of memory device based on C15WRST has significantly improved, including a reversible phase transition with a pulse width of 6 ns, a SET/RESET voltage of only 1.1/1.6 V, a resistance drift coefficient reduced to 0.0072, and a power consumption of only 5 pJ. Thus, the C and Re co-doping strategy improves the thermal stability and reliability, while reducing the resistance drift and RESET power consumption of the devices.