Ultrafast phase change speed and high thermal stability of scandium doped SnSb4 thin film for PCRAM applications

To address the challenge of reconciling the trade-off between phase change speed and thermal stability in phase change materials, we synthesized Sc-doped SnSb ₄ thin films with a composition of Sn ₂₂Sb ₇₆Sc ₂ and investigated their phase change properties. Our findings demonstrate that the Sn ₂₂Sb ₇₆Sc ₂ thin film exhibits enhanced thermal stability and faster phase change speed than Ge ₂Sb ₂Te ₅. The Sc-Sn bond formed during crystallization contributes to an improved data retention capability of up to 166 °C. Notably, the phase change speed of the Sn ₂₂Sb ₇₆Sc ₂ thin film on the basis of device test can reach up to 20 ns. Additionally, the power consumption of the Sn ₂₂Sb ₇₆Sc ₂ thin film (1.1 × 10 ⁻¹¹ J) is nearly two orders of magnitude lower than that of Ge ₂Sb ₂Te ₅ (9.7 × 10 ⁻¹⁰ J). These results provide compelling evidence that the Sn ₂₂Sb ₇₆Sc ₂ thin film can overcome the "inverted relation" between high thermal stability and fast phase change speed, achieving a balanced performance.