AgInSbTe

Abstract: A chalcogenide material with Ag/Ag5In5Sb60Te30/Ag structure was proposed as a memristor. Reproducible gradual resistance tuning in bipolar/unipolar modes was demonstrated. The resistance variation was tuned more precisely by controlling the polarity, the amplitude, the width, and the number of applied voltage pulses. The bipolar memristive switch was attributed to the coexistence of intrinsic space charge limited conduction and extrinsic electrochemical metallization effect. Moreover, the unipolar gradual resistance tuning reconfirmed the electrochemical metallization effect. The gradual resistance tuning characteristics will promote this memristor to potential application in mimicking biological plastic synapses.

Abstract: The recording and retrieval of signals below 100 nm mark length were attempted with elliptical bubble-type super-resolution technology with platinum oxide (PtOx) and ductile AgInSbTe layers, using the same optical system as that of a digital versatile disk (a 635 nm wavelength red laser system). The carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of over 47 dB for 100 nm mark length signals (over 43 dB for 80 nm mark length signals) was obtained, which can be considered as a commercially acceptable level of CNR. The recording mechanism of the sample disk was shown through the transmission electron microscopy cross-section image observation to be by rigid elliptical bubble formation at the PtOx layer located between the AgInSbTe layers. The results of this report represent the potential for a much higher-density storage using the red laser system and a subterabyte optical storage using the blue laser system.

Abstract: AgInSbTe films have recently attracted considerable interest as advanced materials for phase change recording. For this application the determination of crystallization kinetics is of crucial importance. In this work the temperature dependence of structural and electrical properties of sputtered AgInSbTe films has been determined. Temperature dependent measurements of the electrical resistance have been employed to study the kinetics of structural changes of these films. Upon annealing a major resistivity drop is observed at around 160 °C which can be attributed to a structural change as corroborated by x-ray diffraction. X-ray diffraction shows an amorphous phase for as-deposited films, while crystalline films with hexagonal structure (a=4283 A, c=16 995 A) are obtained upon annealing above 160 °C. By applying Kissinger’s method, an activation energy of 3.03±0.17 eV is obtained for the crystallization. X-ray reflection measurements reveal a density increase of 5.2%±0.2% and a thickness decrease of 5.5%±0...

Abstract: Phase change memory devices are based on the rapid and reversible amorphous-to-crystalline transformations of phase change materials, such as Ge2Sb2Te5 and AgInSbTe. Since the maximum switching speed of these devices is typically limited by crystallization speed, understanding the crystallization process is of crucial importance. While Ge2Sb2Te5 and AgInSbTe show very different crystallization mechanisms from their melt-quenched states, the nanostructural origin of this difference has not been clearly demonstrated. Here, we show that an amorphous state includes different sizes and number of nanoscale nuclei, after thermal treatment such as melt-quenching or furnace annealing is performed. We employ fluctuation transmission electron microscopy to detect nanoscale nuclei embedded in amorphous materials, and use a pump-probe laser technique and atomic force microscopy to study the kinetics of nucleation and growth. We confirm that melt-quenched amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 includes considerably larger and more quenched-in nuclei than its as-deposited state, while melt-quenched AgInSbTe does not, and explain this contrast by the different ratio between quenching time and nucleation time in these materials. In addition to providing insights to the crystallization process in these technologically important devices, this study presents experimental illustrations of temperature-dependence of nucleation rate and growth speed, which was predicted by theory of phase transformation but rarely demonstrated.