• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.146-152
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• 2011

Thermal stability of $Ge_2Sb_2Te_5$ (GST) and $SiO_2$ doped GST (SGST) films for phase change random access memory applications was investigated by observing the change of surface roughness, layer density and composition of both films after isothermal annealing. After both GST and SGST films were annealed at $325^{\circ}C$ for 20 min, root mean square (RMS) surface roughness of GST was increased from 1.9 to 35.9 nm but that of SGST was almost unchanged. Layer density of GST also steeply decreased from 72.48 to 68.98 $g/cm^2$ and composition was largely varied from Ge : Sb : Te = 22.3 : 22.1 : 55.6 to 24.2 : 22.7 : 53.1, while those of SGST were almost unchanged. It was confirmed that the addition of a small amount of $SiO_2$ into GST film restricted the deterioration of physical and chemical properties of GST film, resulting in the better thermal stability after isothermal annealing.