Improving the SiGeAsTe Ovonic Threshold Switching (OTS) Characteristics by Microwave Annealing for Excellent Endurance (> 10¹¹) and Low Drift Characteristics

Indium turns tellurium into an ovonic threshold switching selector via a stabilizing amorphous network

“…Since Ovshinsky proposed the occurrence of the threshold switching phenomenon in Ge 10 Si 12 As 30 Te 48 in the 1960s, 15 numerous OTS materials have been discovered and studied, including Te-, Se- and S-based chalcogenides. 16–20 Elements such as N, Si, As, Sb, and C are doped into chalcogenide materials to optimize the performance of OTS devices, 21–24 impacting the parameters such as the on/off ratio, on-state current, endurance, threshold voltage, and thermal stability; this, however, inevitably results in the increase in material complexity. To satisfy the stringent performance requirements of the industry, OTS material systems are predominantly ternary, quaternary, or even quinary in composition and often contain toxic elements, leading to environmental unfriendliness and industrial incompatibility.…”

A refresh operation method for solving thermal stability issues and improving endurance of ovonic threshold switching selectors

“…Methods to improve the endurance of OTS selectors include composition optimization, 20,33,34 element doping, 14,22,34,35 introducing buffer layers, 36,37 and adopting special operation methods. 38,39 However, limited by the consistency of the fabrication process, some devices in the memory array will fail before their working life expectancy after multiple cycles and will affect the overall performance of the memory chip. The method mentioned above obviously cannot solve the problems at the same time.…”

High-Density Nanopatterning of SiGeAsTe Chalcogenide as Ovonic Threshold Switch Selectors for Memory Applications

“…Chalcogenide-based alloys, which have previously found application in phase-change memories (PCMs), continue to be versatile and have exhibited OTS characteristics for implementation in OTS-based devices. The chalcogen (S, Se, or Te) in these materials is combined with other elements such as Zn, Si, Ge, Sb, and As to form alloys which can range from being binary to quaternary. − The addition of more elements or doping of these chalcogenide alloys strengthens their structural and thermal stability. Moreover, the electrical attributeswhich include lower leakage current, efficient switching, higher endurance, and higher current density for compatibility with the desired SCMalso showcase significant improvement.…”