Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review Article
  • Published:

Phase-change materials for rewriteable data storage

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 824–832 (2007)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 13 November 2007

Abstract

Phase-change materials are some of the most promising materials for data-storage applications. They are already used in rewriteable optical data storage and offer great potential as an emerging non-volatile electronic memory. This review looks at the unique property combination that characterizes phase-change materials. The crystalline state often shows an octahedral-like atomic arrangement, frequently accompanied by pronounced lattice distortions and huge vacancy concentrations. This can be attributed to the chemical bonding in phase-change alloys, which is promoted by p-orbitals. From this insight, phase-change alloys with desired properties can be designed. This is demonstrated for the optical properties of phase-change alloys, in particular the contrast between the amorphous and crystalline states. The origin of the fast crystallization kinetics is also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Rewriteable optical data storage using phase-change materials.
Figure 2
Figure 3: Crystal structures.

© 2001 APS

Figure 4: Schematic presentation of the possible ring structure transformation in the phase changes crystal–liquid–amorphous (record) and amorphous–crystal (erase) in Ge2Sb2Te5 and GeTe.

© 2006 AIP

Figure 5: Time–temperature–transformation diagram of an undercooled liquid.
Figure 6: Change of refractive index (n) and absorption coefficient (k) with stoichiometry for a wavelength of 405 nm.
Figure 7: Comparison of optics, recording densities, recording capacities and disk structures used for CD, DVD and BD.
Figure 8: Typical current–voltage curve of a phase-change alloy that was initially in the amorphous state.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Meinders, E. R., Mijritskii, A. V., van Pieterson, L. & Wuttig, M. Optical Data Storage: Phase Change Media and Recording (Springer, Berlin, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Yamada, N. et al. High-speed overwritable phase-change optical disk material. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 26, 61–66 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Satoh, I. & Yamada, N. DVD-RAM for all audio/video, PC, and network applications. Proc. SPIE 4085, 283–290 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ovshinsky, S. R. Reversible electrical switching phenomena in disordered structures. Phys. Rev. Lett. 21, 1450–1453 (1968).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Wuttig, M. Phase-change materials—towards a universal memory? Nature Mater. 4, 265–266 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Luo, M. B. & Wuttig, M. The dependence of crystal structure of Te-based phase-change materials on the number of valence electrons. Adv. Mater. 16, 439–443 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Chen, M., Rubin, K. A. & Barton, R. W. Compound materials for reversible, phase-change optical-data storage. Appl. Phys. Lett. 49, 502–504 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Yamada, N., Takenaga, M. & Takao, M. Te–Ge–Sn–Au phase-change recording film for optical disk. Proc. SPIE 695, 79–85 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ohno, E., Yamada, N., Kurumizawa, T., Kimura, K. & Takao, M. Tegesnau alloys for phase-change type optical disk memories. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 28, 1235–1240 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Yamada, N., Ohno, E., Nishiuchi, K., Akahira, N. & Takao, M. Rapid-phase transitions of GeTe–Sb2Te3 pseudobinary amorphous thin-films for an optical disk memory. J. Appl. Phys. 69, 2849–2856 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Kojima, R. et al. Nitrogen doping effect on phase change optical disks. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 37, 2098–2103 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kojima, R. & Yamada, N. Acceleration of crystallization speed by Sn addition to Ge–Sb–Te phase-change recording material. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 40, 5930–5937 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Yusu, K., Nakai, T., Ashida, S., Ohmachi, N., Morishita, N. & Nakamura, N. Highspeed crystallization characteristics of Ge–Sb–Te–Bi materials used for next generation rewritable DVD with blue laser and NA = 0.65. Proc. E\\PCOS05 (2005); available at http://www.epcos.org.

  14. Kusada, H., Hosaka, T., Kojima R. & Yamada, N. Effect of excess Sb on GeTe–Sb2Te3–Bi2Te3 recording films. Proc. 18th Symp. PCOS2005 32–35 (2006).

  15. Iwasaki, H., Ide, Y., Harigaya, M., Kageyama, Y. & Fujimura, I. Completely erasable phase-change optical disk. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 31, 461–465 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Horie, M., Nobukuni, N., Kiyono, K. & Ohno, T. High-speed rewritable DVD up to 20 m/s with nucleation-free eutectic phase-change material of Ge(Sb70Te30)+Sb. Proc. SPIE 4090, 135–143 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Kato, T. et al. The phase change optical disc with the data recording rate of 140 Mbps. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 41, 1664–1667 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Iwasaki, H. et al. Completely erasable phase-change optical disc. II. Application of Ag–In–Sb–Te mixed-phase system for rewritable compact disc compatible with CD-velocity and double CD-velocity. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 32, 5241–5247 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Afonso, C. N., Solis, J., Catalina, F. & Kalpouzos, C. Ultrafast reversible phase-change in GeSb films for erasable optical storage. Appl. Phys. Lett. 60, 3123–3125 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Yuzurihara, H., Iwasa, H. & Kaneko, Y. GeSbSnMn for high speed BD-RE media. Proc. 17th Symp. PCOS2005 19–22 (2005).

  21. Yamada, N. & Matsunaga, T. Structure of laser-crystallized Ge2Sb2+ xTe5 sputtered thin films for use in optical memory. J. Appl. Phys. 88, 7020–7028 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Matsunaga, T. & Yamada, N. A study of highly symmetrical crystal structures, commonly seen in high-speed phase-change materials, using synchrotron radiation. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 41, 1674–1678 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Matsunaga, T. & Yamada, N. Crystallographic studies on high-speed phase-change materials used for rewritable optical recording disks. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 43, 4704–4712 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Nonaka, T., Ohbayashi, G., Toriumi, Y., Mori, Y. & Hashimoto, H. Crystal structure of GeTe and Ge2Sb2Te5 meta-stable phase. Thin Solid Films 370, 258–261 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Matsunaga, T. & Yamada, N. Crystal structure and bonding nature of Ge8Sb2Te11, a suitable material for high-speed, high density phase-change recording. Proc. 16th Symp. PCOS2004 1–4 (2005).

  26. Kolobov, A. V. et al. Understanding the phase-change mechanism of rewritable optical media. Nature Mater. 3, 703–708 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Matsunaga, T., Umetani, Y. & Yamada, N. Structural study of a Ag3.4In3.7Sb76.4Te16.5 quadruple compound utilized for phase-change optical disks. Phys. Rev. B 64, 184116 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zallen, R. Models of amorphous solids. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 75, 3–14 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Zachariasen, W. The atomic arrangement in glass. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 54, 3841–3851 (1932).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Thorpe, M. F. Continuous deformations in random networks. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 57, 355–370 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Phillips, J. C. & Thorpe, M. F. Constraint theory, vector percolation and glass-formation. Solid State Commun. 53, 699–702 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Feng, X. W., Bresser, W. J. & Boolchand, P. Direct evidence for stiffness threshold in chalcogenide glasses. Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4422–4425 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Welnic, W. et al. Unravelling the interplay of local structure and physical properties in phase-change materials. Nature Mater. 5, 56–62 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Wełnic, W., Botti, S., Reining, L. & Wuttig, M. Origin of the optical contrast in phase change materials. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 236403 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Debenedetti, P. G. & Stillinger, F. H. Supercooled liquids and the glass transition. Nature 410, 259–267 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Baker, D. A., Paesler, M. A., Lucovsky, G., Agarwal, S. C. & Taylor, P. C. Application of bond constraint theory to the switchable optical memory material Ge2Sb2Te5 . Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 255501 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Kohara, S. et al. Structural basis for the fast phase change of Ge2Sb2Te5: ring statistics analogy between the crystal and amorphous states. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 201910 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Kalb, J., Spaepen, F. & Wuttig, M. Calorimetric measurements of phase transformations in thin films of amorphous Te alloys used for optical data storage. J. Appl. Phys. 93, 2389–2393 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Kalb, J., Spaepen, F. & Wuttig, M. Atomic force microscopy measurements of crystal nucleation and growth rates in thin films of amorphous Te alloys. Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 5240–5242 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Kalb, J. A., Wuttig, M. & Spaepen, F. Calorimetric measurements of structural relaxation and glass transition temperatures in sputtered films of amorphous Te alloys used for phase change recording. J. Mater. Res. 22, 748–754 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Turnbull, D. Under what conditions can a glass be formed? Contemp. Phys. 10, 473–488 (1969).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Kalb, J. A., Spaepen, F. & Wuttig, M. Kinetics of crystal nucleation in undercooled droplets of Sb- and Te-based alloys used for phase change recording. J. Appl. Phys. 98, 054910 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Friedrich, I., Weidenhof, V., Lenk, S. & Wuttig, M. Morphology and structure of laser-modified Ge2Sb2Te5 films studied by transmission electron microscopy. Thin Solid Films 389, 239–244 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Chen, Y. C. et al. Ultra-thin phase-change bridge memory device using GeSb. IEDM Tech. Digest 777–780 (2006).

  45. Friedrich, I., Weidenhof, V., Njoroge, W., Franz, P. & Wuttig, M. Structural transformations of Ge2Sb2Te5 films studied by electrical resistance measurements. J. Appl. Phys. 87, 4130–4134 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Coombs, J. H., Jongenelis, A. P. J. M., Vanesspiekman, W. & Jacobs, B. A. J. Laser-induced crystallization phenomena in GeTe-based alloys. 2. Composition dependence of nucleation and growth. J. Appl. Phys. 78, 4918–4928 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Weidenhof, V., Pirch, N., Friedrich, I., Ziegler, S. & Wuttig, M. Minimum time for laser induced amorphization of Ge2Sb2Te5 films. J. Appl. Phys. 88, 657–664 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Anderson, P. W. Absence of diffusion in certain random lattices. Phys. Rev. 109, 1492–1505 (1958).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Njoroge, W. K., Woltgens, H. W. & Wuttig, M. Density changes upon crystallization of Ge2Sb2.04Te4.74 films. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 20, 230–233 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Yamada, N. et al. Phase-change material for use in rewritable dual-layer optical disk. Proc. SPIE 4342, 55–63 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Onida, G., Reining, L. & Rubio, A. Electronic excitations: density-functional versus many-body Green's-function approaches. Rev. Mod. Phys. 74, 601–659 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Stuke, J. & Zimmerer, G. Optical properties of amorphous 3–5 compounds.1. Experiment. Phys. Status Solidi B 49, 513–523 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Wuttig, M. et al. The role of vacancies and local distortions in the design of new phase-change materials. Nature Mater. 6, 122–128 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Peierls, R. E. Quantum Theory of Solids (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1956).

    Google Scholar 

  55. Gaspard, J. P. Hume–Rothery rule in V–VI compounds. Solid State Commun. 84, 839–842 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Gaspard, J. P., Pellegatti, A., Marinelli, F. & Bichara, C. Peierls instabilities in covalent structures. I. Electronic structure, cohesion and the Z = 8 − N rule. Phil. Mag. B 77, 727–744 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Nakano, T., Sato, A., Fuji, H., Tominaga, J. & Atoda, N. Transmitted signal detection of optical disks with a superresolution near-field structure. Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 151–153 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Tominaga, J., Fuji, H., Sato, A., Nakano, T. & Atoda, N. The characteristics and the potential of super resolution near-field structure. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 39, 957–961 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Kim, J. et al. Super-resolution near-field structure with alternative recording and mask materials. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 1 42, 1014–1017 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Cho, W. Y. et al. A 0.18-μm 3.0-V 64-Mb nonvolatile phase-transition random access memory (PRAM). IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits 40, 293–300 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Hudgens, S. & Johnson, B. Overview of phase-change chalcogenide nonvolatile memory technology. Mater. Res. Soc. Bull. 29, 829–832 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Bez, R. & Pirovano, A. Non-volatile memory technologies: emerging concepts and new materials, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Proc. 7, 349–355 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Lankhorst, M. H. R., Ketelaars, B. W. S. M. M. & Wolters, R. A. M. Low-cost and nanoscale non-volatile memory concept for future silicon chips. Nature Mater. 4, 347–352 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. Hanzawa, S. et al. A 512 kB embedded phase change memory with 416 kb/s write throughput 100 μA cell write current. ISSCC Digest Tech. 474–475 (2007).

  65. Pirovano, A., Lacaita, A. L., Benvenuti, A., Pellizzer, F. & Bez, R. Electronic switching in phase-change memories. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 51, 452–459 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Merget, F., Kim, D. H., Bolivar, P. Η. & Kurz, H. Lateral phase change random access memory cell design for low power operation. Microsyst. Technol. 13, 169–172 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Kim, D. H., Merget, F., Forst, M. & Kurz, H. Threedimensional simulation model of switching dynmics in phase change random access memory cells. J. Appl. Phys. 101, 064512–1 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Kastner, M., Adler, D. & Fritsche, H. Valence-alternation model for localized gap states in lone-pair semiconductors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 37, 1504–1507 (1976).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Waser, R. & Aono, M. Nanoionics-based resistive switching memories. Nature Mater. 6, 833–840 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Lu, W. & Lieber, C. M. Nanoelectronics from the bottom up. Nature Mater. 6, 841–850 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank J. Kalb and M. Salinga for critical reading of the manuscript and the European project WIND for financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physikalisches Institut, RWTH Aachen University, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Matthias Wuttig

  2. AV Core Technology Development Center, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, 3-1-1 Yagumo-Naka-machi, Moriguchi, 570-8501, Osaka, Japan

    Noboru Yamada

Authors
  1. Matthias Wuttig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Noboru Yamada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthias Wuttig.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wuttig, M., Yamada, N. Phase-change materials for rewriteable data storage. Nature Mater 6, 824–832 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2009

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2009

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing