In-Ga-O Based Double-Heater Phase Change Memory Cell

We report a new type of phase-change materials based upon the compound of In-Ga-O. It is found to exhibit two-order of magnitude resistivity change between the high-resistive amorphous phase and the low-resistive cubic phase at a phase-change temperature ~250degC. When the In-Ga-O is incorporated into a nonvolatile phase change memory (PCM) device with a double-heater (DH) structure, it exhibits an on/off resistance ratio of 1000 and cycling over 300 times which are superior to those observed on a single-heater (SH) PCM device. These results, together with a low bias point of 70 muA at 6.5 volt and 1.5 mA at 3.5 volt, respectively, for set/ reset operation of the DH-PCM device to the crystalline/amorphous state, suggest that In-Ga-O is a promising material candidate for low power application of PCM devices.