Reliable Ge2Sb2Te5-Integrated High-Density Nanoscale Conductive Bridge Random Access Memory using Facile Nitrogen-Doping Strategy

Conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM) is a possible replacement for static field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) based on randomaccess memory. Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is used in CBRAMs as a solid electrolyte due to its high diffusion properties of active ions and scalability to obtain high-density memory devices. Here, the trade-off between high memory window and uniformity of CBRAM based on GST is solved by introducing N atoms into the SE. Nitrogen-incorporated GST film (N-GST) is proposed as a replacement for the current GST-based CBRAMs with improved performance and better opportunities for conventional FPGA technologies. A bidirectional polarity-dependent characteristic with high I-ON/I-OFF ratio and satisfactory operation voltage is achieved by using N-GST thin film in a programmable metallization cell (PMC). Integration of N atoms in the GST-based PMC with a simple structure of Ag/ N-GST / Pt increases the resistance ratio more than 100 times compared to an undoped one. Consistent data retention is attained in both resistance states for >= 3.5 x 10(4) s at temperature up to 85 degrees C.