Thickness dependence of the amorphous-cubic and cubic-hexagonal phase transition temperatures of GeSbTe thin films on silicon nitride

• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2011.11.033
• Publication Date: 2011-11-16T01:11:20Z
• Authors: H.K. Peng; K. Cil; A. Gokirmak; G. Bakan; Y. Zhu; C.S. Lai; C.H. Lam; H. Silva
• Keywords: Hexagonal phase; Phase-change memory

Abstract The crystallization temperature of GeSbTe thin films with thicknesses between 11 and 87 nm on silicon nitride was studied through resistance versus temperature measurements. The amorphous-cubic phase transition occurs at ~ 150 °C for all films thicknesses, whereas the cubic-hexagonal phase transition temperature increases with film thickness, from ~ 200 °C for the 20 nm film to ~ 250 °C for the 87 nm film. The cubic-hexagonal transition occurs gradually for the 11 nm film. Implications for phase-change memory devices are discussed.