Influence of yttrium element on the crystallization performance of ZnSb alloy for phase change memory application

The crystallization behavior and electrical performance of Y-doped Zn15Sb85 phase change material were proposed and experimental examined. The relationship between the resistance and temperature reveals that the Y dopant is able to enhancing the thermal stability (Tc～237 °C, T10～169 °C) and resistivity (Ra～105 Ω, Rc～102 Ω) of Zn15Sb85 films, which are suitable for automobile design and surface mount technology. XRD results indicate that the Y dopant could effectively inhibit grain growth and reduce grain size. Meanwhile, XPS illustrates that Y is more likely to form bonds with Sb. Further, the resistance drift index and surface roughness become small after doping Y element, which is of great benefit to improving the reliability and electrical performance of the device. Moreover, T-shaped phase change memory cells based on Y0.36(Zn15Sb85)0.64 film were also built and analyzed. The characteristic of current - voltage (I-V) and resistance - voltage (R-V) prove that the SET and RESET operations can be achieved by electric induction, implying the excellent candidate of Y-doped Zn15Sb85 material for high thermal and high reliability application.