Ultrafast crystallization in nanoscale phase change film of monobasic antimony

Abstract The property of Sb phase change thin film is investigated systematically. Sb thin film has an appropriate crystallization temperature (~165 °C) and data retention (110 °C for 10 year). Irradiated by laser pulse, the Sb thin film can achieve the crystallization operation within 6.05 ns. The monoclinic structure is confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction and the bond vibration mode of A7 phase is demonstrated by Raman scattering spectrum. With the crystallization, the band gap becomes narrow and the polycrystalline structure gradually forms. The Sb-based phase change memory cells are prepared. An ultrafast programing operation (~5 ns) and good endurance of 1.4 × 107 cycles are achieved. The results reveal that Sb thin film has promising potential in phase change memory application.