The effects of yttrium dopants on the phase change behaviour and microstructure of Sn15Sb85 films have been systematically investigated. The yttrium-doped Sn15Sb85 film has the higher phase transition temperature, ten-year data retention ability and crystallization activation energy, which represent the great improvement of thermal stability and data retention. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that the amorphous Sn and Y components restrict the grain growth and decrease the grain size. Raman mode typically associated with Sb are altered when the substance crystallized. Atomic force microscopy results show that the surface morphology of the doped films becomes smoother. T-shaped phase change storage cells based on yttrium-doped Sn15Sb85 films exhibit the lower power consumption. The results demonstrate that the crystallization characteristics of Sn15Sb85 film can be tuned and optimized through yttrium dopant for the excellent performances of phase change memory.

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The effect of yttrium doping on the phase transition properties and crystal structure of Ge1Sb9 thin films was studied. Y-doped Ge1Sb9 thin films have higher crystallization temperature (218 °C) and...

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Phase-change heterojunction Sb2Te3/Ga2Sb3 thin films with different thickness ratios and periods were designed and prepared by the magnetron sputtering technique. The multi-level resistance states of phase-change heterojunction Sb2Te3/Ga2Sb3 film were investigated from the perspective of material and device. As for the constant thickness ratio, both the phase transition temperature and electrical resistance increase with the decrease of periods. In particular, the heterojunction [Sb2Te3(7nm)/Ga2Sb3(3nm)]3 film experiences the twice resistance jumps at 208 and 290℃, respectively, exhibiting the obvious triple-resistance states. The phase structure and vibrational modes of [Sb2Te3(7nm)/Ga2Sb3(3nm)]3 film during the different crystallization stages were observed by the structural characterization.