Effect of electrode material on the crystallization of GeTe grown by atomic layer deposition for phase change random access memory

The electrical switching behavior of the GeTe phase-changing material grown by atomic layer deposition is characterized for the phase change random access memory (PCRAM) application. Planar-type PCRAM devices are fabricated with a TiN orWbottom electrode (BE). The crystallization behavior is characterized by applying an electrical pulse train and analyzed by applying the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami kinetics model. The device with TiN BE shows a high Avrami coefficient (>4), meaning that continuous and multiple nucleations occur during crystallization (set switching). Meanwhile, the device with W BE shows a smaller Avrami coefficient (~3), representing retarded nucleation during the crystallization. In addition, larger voltage and power are necessary for crystallization in case of the device with W BE. It is believed that the thermal conductivity of the BE material affects the temperature distribution in the device, resulting in different crystallization kinetics and set switching behavior.