Study on the thermal stability improvement of GeTe by Al doping

Al-doped GeTe is proposed for high-temperature phase-change memories (PCM). The bonding and coordination environment of Al atoms in Al2.7Ge50Te50 is studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The large number of bonds provided by Al improves the stability of the amorphous-state (10-yr retention at 177 °C) as well as the uniformity of the material distribution. The low melting temperature (676 °C) and high set-resistance lower power-consumption of the Al2.7Ge50Te50 based cell. The high thermal stability and low power-consumption have made Al2.7Ge50Te50 material a promising candidate for high thermally stable PCM application.