Ovonyx Inc.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Carl Schell

Tyler A Lowrey

Jon Maimon

Wolodymyr Czubatyj

Steve Hudgens

Jeff Fournier

Ed Spall

Wally Czubatyj

Mike Hennessey

Charles H Dennison

Stephen J Hudgens

Guy Charles Wicker

Hideki Horii

Soon-Oh Park

Dong-ho Ahn

Hee-Ju Shin

Young-Hyun Kim

Jonathan D Maimon

Jin-ho Oh

A memory includes a programmable resistance array with high ratio of dynamic range to drift coefficient phase change memory devices.

Programmable resistance memory

Variable resistance memory compositions and devices exhibiting superior data retention characteristics at elevated temperature. The compositions are composite materials that include a variable resistance component and an inert component. The variable resistance component may include a phase-change material and the inert component may include a dielectric material. The phase-change material may include Ge, Sb, and Te, where the atomic concentration of Sb is between 3% and 16% and/or the Sb/Ge ratio is between 0.07 and 0.68 and/or the Ge/Te ratio is between 0.6 and 1.1 and/or the concentration of dielectric component (expressed as the sum of the atomic concentrations of the constituent elements thereof) is between 5% and 50%. The compositions exhibit high ten-year data retention temperatures and long data retention times at elevated temperatures.

Variable resistance materials with superior data retention characteristics

A method of programming an electrical variable resistance memory device. When applied to variable resistance memory devices that incorporate a phase-change material as the active material, the method utilizes a plurality of crystalline programming states. The crystalline programming states are distinguishable on the basis of resistance, where the resistance values of the different states are stable with time and exhibit little or no drift. As a result, the programming scheme is particularly suited to multilevel memory applications. The crystalline programming states may be achieved by stabilizing crystalline phases that adopt different crystallographic structures or by stabilizing crystalline phases that include mixtures of two or more distinct crystallographic structures that vary in the relative proportions of the different crystallographic structures. The programming scheme incorporates at least two crystalline programming states and further includes at least a third programming state that may be a crystalline, amorphous or mixed crystalline-amorphous state.

Multilevel variable resistance memory cell utilizing crystalline programming states

A non-volatile memory device including a phase-change material, which has a low operating voltage and low power consumption, includes a lower electrode; a phase-change material layer formed on the lower electrode so as to be electrically connected to the lower electrode, wherein the phase-change material layer includes a phase-change material having a composition represented by SnSbTeor, alternatively with substitutions, in whole or in part, of silicon and/or indium for tin, arsenic and/or bismuth for antimony, and selenium for tellurium; and an upper electrode formed on the phase-change material layer so as to be electrically connected to the phase-change material layer. Here, 0.001&#x2266;X&#x2266;0.3, 0.001&#x2266;Y&#x2266;0.8, 0.1&#x2266;Z&#x2266;0.8, and X+Y+Z=1.

Non-volatile memory device including phase-change material

A variable resistance material for memory applications. The material includes a base Ge&#x2014;Sb&#x2014;Te composition and further includes As-doping. The materials were included in variable resistance memory devices. Incorporation of As in the variable resistance composition led to a significant increase in the operational life of the device and, unexpectedly, did not reduce the programming speed of the device. In one embodiment, the composition includes at atomic concentration of Ge in the range from 7%-13%, an atomic concentration of Sb in the range from 50%-70%, an atomic concentration of Te in the range from 20%-30%, and an atomic concentration of As in the range from 2%-15%.

Arsenic-containing variable resistance materials

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Waterford, MI, United States of America

Carl Schell