Change in Structure of Amorphous Sb–Te Phase‐Change Materials as a Function of Stoichiometry
physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters, vol. 15
Abstract
Chalcogenide phase‐change materials (PCMs) are a leading candidate for non‐volatile memory and neuro‐inspired computing applications. Antimony telluride alloys can be made into fast and robust PCMs by proper doping. Depending on the compositional ratio, the amorphous state of these alloys shows either nucleation‐ or growth‐driven crystallization dynamics at elevated temperatures. In this work, thorough ab initio simulations are carried out to study the structural properties and bonding nature of six Sb–Te alloys with varied composition from 2:3 to 4:1. Despite all of the compounds showing similar local structural motifs consisting of defective octahedral configurations, a gradual change in medium range order and cavity concentration is observed as the Sb content increases. This trend is responsible for the reduction in the nucleation rate, thus leading to growth‐driven crystallization. In addition, the degree of charge transfer decreases as the composition approaches the Sb end, reducing the driving force for long‐term mass transport and phase separation upon extensive cycling in devices.
Authors 7
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing School of Materials Science and Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
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Xudong Wang corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing School of Materials Science and Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing School of Materials Science and Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
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Sapienza University of Rome · Xi'an Jiaotong University
Affiliation as printed
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Department of Physics Sapienza University of Rome Rome 00185 Italy
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing School of Materials Science and Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185 Italy
Materials Studio for Neuro-Inspired Computing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
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Affiliation as printed
Key Laboratory of Materials Processing Engineering College of Materials Science and Engineering Xi'an Shiyou University Xi'an 710065 China
Key Laboratory of Materials Processing Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an, 710065 China
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Wei Zhang corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an 710049 China
Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China
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Riccardo Mazzarello corresponding Aachen Institute for Theoretical Solid State Physics Institute for Theoretical Solid‐State Physics JARA‐FIT and JARA‐HPC
RWTH Aachen University · Sapienza University of Rome · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance
Affiliation as printed
Department of Physics Sapienza University of Rome Rome 00185 Italy
Institute for Theoretical Solid-State Physics JARA-FIT and JARA-HPC RWTH Aachen University Aachen 52056 Germany
Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185 Italy
Institute for Theoretical Solid-State Physics, JARA-FIT and JARA-HPC, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52056 Germany
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