Investigation and solution of low yield problem for phase change memory with lateral fully-confined structure

This paper mainly focuses on solving the low yield problem for lateral phase change random access memory with a fully confined phase change material node. Improper over-etching and bad step-coverage of physical vapor deposition were the main reasons for the poor contact quality, which leads to the low yield problem. Process improvement was carried out to better control over-etching within 10 nm. Atomic layer deposition process was used to replace physical vapor deposition to guarantee good step coverage. Contrasting cross-sectional photos taken by scanning electron microscopy showed great improvement in contact quality. The atom layer deposition process was demonstrated to have good prospects in nano-contact for phase change memory application.

High quality metal-quantum dot-metal structure fabricated with a highly compatible self-aligned process

A self-aligned process to fabricate a ＂metal-quantum dot-metal＂ structure is presented, based on an ＂electron beam lithography, thin film deposition and dry etching process＂. The sacrificial layers used can improve the lift-off process, and novel lithography layouts design can improve the mechanical strength of the fabricated nanostructures. The superiority of the self-aligned process includes low request for overlay accuracy, high compatibility with a variety of materials, and applicable to similar structure devices fabrication. Finally, a phase change memory with fully confined phase-change material node, with the length × width × height of 255 × 45 × 30 nm^3 was demonstrated.