The Femtosecond laser pulse induced phase transition dynamics of Cr-doped Sb2Te1 films was studied by real-time reflectivity measurements with a pump-probe system. It was found that crystallization of the as-deposited CrxSb2Te1 phase-change thin films exhibits a multi-stage process lasting for about 40ns.The time required for the multi-stage process seems to be not related to the contents of Cr element. The durations of the crystallization and amorphization processes are approximately the same. Doping Cr into Sb2Te1 thin film can improve its photo-thermal stability without obvious change in the crystallization rate. Optical images and image intensity cross sections are used to visualize the transformed regions. This work may provide further insight into the phase-change mechanism of CrxSb2Te1 under extra-non-equilibrium conditions and aid to develop new ultrafast phase-change memory materials.
The reliability and operation speed have long been two great obstacles in phase change memory technology. Thus (SiC)0.85-Sb3Te alloy was proposed to be a new-type phase change material due to its high crystallization temperature (199.7°C) and good data retention ability (118.9°C for 10-year archival life) in this work. The stress accompanying the phase transition in (SiC)0.85-Sb3Te is smaller than those in pure Sb3Te and the traditional material, Ge2Sb2Te5. This is attributed to the fine crystal grain size due to SiC doping, which contributes to the ultrafast reversible operation (5 ns) and good endurance (2.3 × 104 cycles) of (SiC)0.85-Sb3Te based phase change memory cells.
Phase Change Memory (PCM) has great potential for commercial applications of next generation non-volatile memory (NVM) due to its high operation speed, high endurance and low power consumption. Sb2Te (ST) is a common phase-change material and has fast crystallization speed, while thermal stability is relatively poor and its crystallization temperature is about 142°C. According to the Arrhenius law, the extrapolated failure temperature is about 55°C for ten years. When heated above the crystallization temperature while below the melting point, its structure can be transformed from amorphous phase to hexagonal phase. Due to the growth-dominated crystallization mechanism, the grain size of ST film is large and the diameter of about 300 nm is too large compared with Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), which may deteriorate the device performance. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to study the microstructures and the results indicate that the crystal plane is {110}. In addition, device cells were manufactured and their current–voltage (I–V) and resistance–voltage characteristics were tested, and the results reveal that the threshold voltage (Vth) of ST film is 0.87 V. By researching the basic properties of ST, we can understand its disadvantages and manage to improve its performance by doping or other proper methods. Finally, the improved ST can be a candidate for optical discs and PCM.
Recently, carbon-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 (CGST) has been proved to be a high promising material for future phase change memory technology. In this article, reactive ion etching (RIE) of phase change material CGST films is studied using CF4/Ar gas mixture. The effects on gas-mixing ratio, RF power, gas pressure on the etch rate, etch profile and roughness of the CGST film are investigated. Conventional phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) films are simultaneously studied for comparison. Compared with GST film, 10 % more CF4 is needed for high etch rate and 10% less CF4 for good anisotropy of CGST due to more fluorocarbon polymer deposition during CF4 etching. The trends of etch rates and roughness of CGST with varying RF power and chamber pressure are similar with those of GST. Furthermore, the etch rate of CGST are more easily to be saturated when higher RF power is applied.
A three-dimensional finite element model for Phase-Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM) is established to simulate thermal and electrical distribution during RESET operation. The establishment of the model is highly in accordance with the manufacture of PCRAM cell in the 40nm process and the model is applied to simulate the RESET behaviors of 35 nm diameter of titanium nitride (TiN) bottom electrode in the conventional mushroom structure (MS). By the simulations of thermal and electrical distribution, the highest temperature is observed in TiN bottom electrode contactor and meanwhile the voltage of the TiN bottom electrode accounts for as high as 65 percent of the total voltage. It induces high RESET current which suggests that the thermoelectric conductivity of MS is crucial in improving the heating efficiency in RESET process. Simulation results of RESET current and high resistance distribution during RESET operation are close to the data from the actual measurement. However those two values of low resistance are slightly different, probably due to the interface resistance between Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) and other materials and the resistance caused by microstructural defects. This work reveals the importance of the thermoelectrical properties of materials in PCRAM cells and improves the quality of PCRAM simulations in industrial application.
Environmental friendly Te-free phase change material of TixSb2.19Se was investigated for PCM application. As the important thermal properties, the crystallization temperature (Tc) and data retention for ten years for the best selected composition Ti0.34Sb2.19Se (TSS) are 234°C and 160‡C, respectively. Detection of the crystal structure of TSS by means of XRD, TEM and XPS reveals that the grains are more uniform compared with Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). The Set and Reset operation voltages for TSS-based phase change memory devices are much lower than those of conventional GST-based ones. Remarkably, the TSS device exhibits an extremely high phase change speed of 10 ns.
Phase Change Memory (PCM) is regarded as one of the most promising candidates for the next-generation nonvolatile memory. Its storage medium, phase change material, has attracted continuous exploration. Sb2Te3 is a high-speed phase change material matrix with low crystallization temperature. Cr-doped Sb2Te3 (CST) films with suitable composition have been studied and proved to be a promising novel phase change material with high speed and good thermal stability. In this paper, detailed Rs-T characteristics and Hall characteristics of the CST films are studied. We find that, when more parts of the film crystallizes into the ordered structure, the activation energy for electrical conduction (Eσ) decreases, indicating that the semiconductor property is weakened. And with the increase of Cr-dopants, Eσ of the As-deposited (As-de) amorphous CST films decreases, thus the thermal stability of resistance is improved. Hall results show that Sb2Te3 and CST films are all in P-type. For As-de amorphous films, with the increase of Cr-dopants, the carrier mobility decreases all along, while the carrier density decreases at first and then increases. For the crystalline films, with the increase of Cr-dopants, the carrier mobility decreases, while the carrier density increases.
The stability of TiN which is the preferred bottom electrode contact (BEC) of phase change memory (PCM) due to its low thermal conductivity and suitable electrical conductivity, is very essential to the reliability of PCM devices. In this work, in order to investigate the effect of high aspect ratio process (HARP) SiO2 on the performance of TiN, both TiN/SiO2, TiN/SiN thin films and TiN BEC device structures are analyzed. By combining transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), we found that the TiN would be oxidized after the deposition of HARP SiO2 and there exist a thin (~4 nm) oxidation interfacial layer between TiN and SiO2. Electrical measurements were performed on the 1R PCM test-key die with 7 nm and 10 nm BEC-only cells. The statistical initial resistances of BEC have wide distribution and it is confirmed that the non-uniform oxidation of TiN BEC affects the astringency of the resistance of TiN BEC. The experimental results help to optimize the process of TiN BEC, and SiN is recommended as a better choice as the linear layer.
Phase change random access memory (PCM) appears to be the strongest candidate for next-generation high density nonvolatile memory. The fabrication of ultrahigh density PCM depends heavily on the thin film growth technique for the phase changing chalcogenide material. In this study, TiSb2Te4 (TST) thin films were deposited by thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) method using TiCl4, SbCl3, (Et3Si)2Te as precursors. The threshold voltage for the cell based on thermal ALD-deposited TST is about 2.0 V, which is much lower than that (3.5 V) of the device based on PVD-deposited Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) with the identical cell architecture. Tests of TST-based PCM cells have demonstrated a fast switching rate of ~100 ns. Furthermore, because of the lower melting point and thermal conductivities of TST materials, TST-based PCM cells exhibit 19% reduction of pulse voltages for Reset operation compared with GST-based PCM cells. These results show that thermal ALD is an attractive method for the preparation of phase change materials.
In this paper, current density-voltage (J-V) characteristic of dual trench diode array have been investigated by both TCAD model and experimental method. It is shown that the arsenic concentration in buried N+ layer (BNL), epitaxial (EPI) layer thickness, and the dosage of P region in PN junction are expected to be the prominent factors responsible for both of the leakage and drive current performance according to TCAD simulation. By introducing the optimal siliconbased results, the 4×4 diode arrays were successfully manufactured by 40nm CMOS technology. The median values of drive and reverse leakage current densities are ~7.30×10-2 A/μm2 and 5.61×10-9 A/μm2, respectively. The breakdown voltages (BVDs) of diode array are exceeding 6V, and the Jon/Joff ratios of ~109, which can satisfy the requirements of phase change memory (PCM) applications.
In this paper, the development of a new chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurry for phase change material GeSbTe (GST) and its application in the manufacturing process of phase change memory based on GST is presented. The basic abrasive of the slurry was special colloid silica which was chosen from several kinds of colloid silica with different surface treatment and stable pH range. Oxidizer, chelator, inhibitor and protective agent were added to the colloid silica to accelerate the polishing rate and protect the surface. A series of CMP experiments were carried out on a 4-inch experimental platform to confirm and optimize the performance of the slurry with different ratio of reagents. After the recipe was frozen, the slurry was used in the CMP process of manufacturing the phase change memory on 12-inch wafers. The results on blanket wafers show that the remove rate, endurance life, residue control is at the same level with those of the old slurry, while the scratch control is much better than that of the old one. The final results on both metal line structure and blade structure show that the new slurry has much better performance than the old one on oxide loss, scratch and erosion control.
In this work, we discuss about the formation of recessed hole in the manufacturing process of phase change memory (PCM). Three recessed holes with different slope angle and depth were obtained by changing the NF3/O2 gas mixing ratio. The recessed holes upon bottom electrode contact (BEC) were achieved by etch back process after the formation of BEC. The etching process takes advantage of the etch rate of TiN which is faster than that of SiN. With increasing content of O2 gas, the decrease in the etch rate of SiN was larger than that of TiN, and this increases the selectivity of TiN to SiN. Oxidation layer can be found upon the SiN layer in the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) elemental mapping profile after the recessed etching step. It is the existence of oxidation layer that suppressed the etching of SiN.
KEYWORDS: Etching, Plasma, Bromine, Signal detection, Emission spectroscopy, Interfaces, Process control, Scanning electron microscopy, Signal processing, Optical lithography
In the fabrication of phase change memory devices, HBr/He gas is employed in patterning Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) because it is damage free to GST sidewall. Accurate and reproducible endpoint detection methods are necessary in this etching process. In-situ optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is collected and analyzed to control the GST etching process due to its non-invasiveness. By analyzing the light emitted from plasma, we report an effective etch endpoint detection method for GST etching process is developed and the results are also confirmed using scanning electron micrographs.
Resistance distributions of the crystalline (SET) state and amorphous (RESET) state for phase change memory (PCM) are experimentally investigated at the array level. The RESET distribution shows a low resistance tail, which potentially affects the reading margin of the chip. These tail cells are divided into two types by resistance programming current (R-IP) and current voltage (I-V) characteristics. Finally, approaches of improving the integration process to remove the Type-1 tail cells and optimizing the programming operation to repair the Type-2 tail cells are proposed.
A novel phase change material, Si2Sb2Te3 has been reported to show good phase change abilities. Etching of this material is a critical step in the fabrication of phase change memory devices. In this paper, the characteristics of Si2Sb2Te3 etched in CF4/Ar atmosphere are investigated. The influence of the etching rate and surface roughness with different CF4/Ar ratio, pressure, and power are systematically studied. Furthermore, our X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy test results show that Te is the bottleneck to accelerating the etching rate.
A phase change memory cell based on Ge0.5Sb2Te3/Ti0.6Sb2Te3 double-layer structure is proposed for 3-level storage. The fabricated cell can realize 3-level storage ability by both current and voltage operation. Cycling ability has been proved better than 2×103. Thermal simulation shows that the resistivity difference between the two materials can greatly affect the temperature distribution in the cell. More heat will be generated in the amorphous Ge Ge0.5Sb2Te3/ film when the current flow through due to the higher resistivity. And the lower crystallization temperature of Ge0.5Sb2Te3/compared to that of Ti0.6Sb2Te3 ensures its priority of crystallization, which makes the 3-level storage feasible.
KEYWORDS: Chemical mechanical planarization, Germanium, Antimony, Tellurium, Etching, Chemical elements, Resistance, Polishing, Corrosion, Temperature metrology
Amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 (a-GST) chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) using KClO4 as the oxidizer in an acidicslurry is investigated in the present work. It is shown that the removal rate (RR ) of the a-GST firstly increases and thentends to saturate when the KClO4 concentration is greater than 0.8 wt%, but the static etch rate (SER) linearly increasesfrom low to high KClO4 concentration. To understand the oxidation-reaction capability of Ge, Sb and Te, depth profilesof composition of elements and etch morphology of a-GST immersed in the slurry for some time are measured,respectively. It is found that selective corrosion occurs among Ge, Sb and Te, and an accumulation of Te and loss of Gein a-GST surface region are obvious observed, especially at high KClO4 concentrations. Temperature dependent sheetresistance measurements of all the samples pre- and post-CMP reveal a similar trend, which implies a-GST CMP is ableto keep its characteristic well.
A high density design of Schottky-barrier diode array with self-aligned nickel-silicidation under 40nm technology node fabricated on epitaxial layer for low power phase-change memory application is proposed. According to N-type doping profile from simulation, large ON/OFF current ratio, the lower barrier height of ФB and series resistance RS are all determined by the dosage of buried N+ layer, epitaxial layer thickness. In addition, the temperature effect of the Schottky diode array is demonstrated by I-V electrical characteristics. From the optimal silicon-based results, a 9F2 16 × 16 diode array with the ideality factor of 1.21~1.40 shows a drive current density of ~14.9 mA/μm2, a Jon/Joff ratio of ~5.17×103, and crosstalk immunity. Furthermore, this calibrated physical model makes it possible to predict and improve the performance of accessing device array next generation for non-volatile memory application.
New phase change materials development has become one of the most critical modules in the fabrication of low power consumption and good data retention phase change memory (PCM). Among various candidates of new phase change materials, SiSbTe (SST) is one of the most promising materials due to its benefits of low RESET current, high crystallization temperature, good adhesion and small volume shrinkage during phase change from amorphous to crystalline state. However, the oxidization of SST film was found when exposing to the atmosphere. By analyzing the depth profile of chemical states, we found oxygen more easily penetrated into the SST film and bonded with Si and Sb compared to GeSbTe (GST) film. The oxidization mechanism between SST and GST was briefly discussed. We achieved 80% improvement of oxidization issue by nitrogen and argon surface treatment. We proposed a manufacturing solution of SST for PCM.
It's a new method that 3D motion parameters of rocket motor nozzle are measured by vision measuring technology, but
the dynamic mesurement precision of vision measuring system should be evaluated. The calibration platform with nozzle
model can simulate the actual motion of rocket motor nozzle, and supply standard motion parameters for dynamic
calibration to vision measurement system. After analyzing the motion of some type rocket motor nozzle, a new parallel
table for calibration is proposed. The mechanism is made up of a base, a moving table and three links. There are three
degrees of freedom, rotation on X or Y coordinate axis, displacement on Z coordinate axis. The rotation angle is
measured by photoelectric encoder, the displacement is measured by grating scale. The closed loop test system have two
main features. First, the rotation center is fixed because of cross shaft. Second, the position and pose of table can
measured with high precision. Then the normal kinematic solution to position-pose of the table is presented. The virtual
prototype is constructed on Pro/E, and the movement simulation is processed through Adams, thus the correctness of
normal kinematic solutions to position-pose is verified.
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