Physica Status Solidi - Rapid Research Letter, 11, 1770356 (2017) [pdf]

Effects of Y Dopant on Lattice Distortion and Electrical Properties of In₂SbTe₂ Phase-Change Material

Minho Choi, Heechae Choi, Sehyun Kwon, Seungchul Kim, Kwang-Ryeol Lee, Jinho Ahn, Yong Tae Kim

Using a computational high‐throughput screening method, 29 doping elements have been investigated for improving the thermal and electrical characteristics of In₃SbTe₂(IST) phase‐change material. Among the 29 dopants, it is found that Y offers largest distortion in the lattice structure of IST with negative doping formation energy while Y substitutes the In site. The atomic lattice images clearly show that the In site is substituted by Y and the distortion angles of the Y‐doped IST (Y‐IST) are well matched with the calculated results of density functional theory (DFT). Set/reset speed of the Y‐IST phase‐change memory is faster than IST and Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST) devices, which is strongly related with the fast and stable phase transition due to the larger lattice distortion. The power consumption of the Y‐IST device is also less than a fourth of that of the GST device.