Phase change memory devices and methods comprising gallium, lanthanide and chalcogenide compounds

摘要

A new class of phase change materials has been discovered based on compounds of: Ga; lanthanide; and chalcogenide. This includes compounds of Ga, La, and S (GLS) as well as related compounds in which there is substitution of S with O, Se and/or Te. Moreover, La can be substituted with other lanthanide series elements. It has been demonstrated that this class of materials exhibit low energy switching. For example, the GLS material can provide an optical recording medium with erasability 3-5 dB greater than the erasability of GeSbTe (GST) material which is the standard material for phase change memories.

主权项

1. A phase change memory device comprising a phase change material, wherein the phase change material is a compound of:
(Ga)w(La)x(chalcogenide)y wherein: La is La or La and at least one further lanthanide element; the chalcogenide is composed of Te; and the ratio of atoms is in the range of 25