Nonvolatile switching characteristics of laser-ablated Ge 2Sb2Te5 nanoparticles for phase-change memory applications

Abstract

Electrical characteristics of Ge2 Sb2 Te5 (GST) nanoparticles have been examined for a phase-change memory applications. The GST nanoparticles were generated by in situ pulsed laser ablation and their crystal structure formation was confirmed [H. R. Yoon, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 351, 3430 (2005)]. A stacked structure of the GST nanoparticles with 10 nm of average diameter shows reversible nonvolatile switching characteristics between a high resistance state and a low resistance state as in the phase-change memory consisting of bulk GST thin film. Experimental results indicate that it is highly probable to test scaling issues of the phase-change memory with well-defined GST nanoparticles. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.