A method for determining a value of a manufacturing parameter of a resistive memory cell, the resistive memory cell including a stack of layers, includes providing reference memory cells corresponding to technological alternatives of the stack of layers; measuring for each reference memory cell an initial resistance value; determining for each reference memory c ell a programming parameter value selected from among the resistance in a high resistance state and the programming window; establishing a relationship between the programming parameter and the initial resistance from the initial resistance values and the programming parameter values; and determining the manufacturing parameter value for which the programming parameter is greater than or equal to a target value, from the relationship between the programming parameter and the initial resistance and from a dependency relationship between the initial resistance and the manufacturing parameter.

A semiconductor structure includes a plurality of conductive lines formed within a dielectric, wherein each of the plurality of conductive lines electrically communicates with a respective contact, a metal layer disposed over each of the plurality of conductive lines, a phase change memory (PCM) element disposed over the metal layer of each of the plurality of conductive lines, and a projection liner encapsulating the PCM element. Spacers directly contact sidewalls of the projection liner and the PCM element includes a GeSbTe (germanium-antimony-tellurium or GST) layer.

An approach to provide a semiconductor structure for a phase change memory cell with a first liner material surrounding a sidewall of a hole in a dielectric material where the hole in the dielectric is on a bottom electrode in the dielectric material. The semiconductor structure includes a layer of a second liner material on the first liner material, where the second liner material has an improved contact resistance to a phase change material. The semiconductor structure includes the phase change material abutting the layer of the second liner material on the first liner material. The phase change material fills the hole in the dielectric material. The second liner material that is between the phase change material and the first liner material provides a lower contact resistivity with the phase change material in the crystalline phase than the first liner material.

An apparatus of fabricating a semiconductor device may include a chamber including a housing and a slit valve used to open or close a portion of the housing, a heater chuck provided in a lower region of the housing and used to heat a substrate, a target provided over the heater chuck, a plasma electrode provided in an upper region of the housing and used to generate plasma on the target, a heat-dissipation shield surrounding the inner wall of the housing between the plasma electrode and the heater chuck, and an edge heating structure provided between the heat-dissipation shield and the inner wall of the housing and configured to heat the heat-dissipation shield and an edge region of the substrate and to reduce a difference in temperature between center and edge regions of the substrate.

A phase change material, a phase change memory cell, and a preparation method thereof. The phase change material comprises elements tantalum, antimony and tellurium, the phase change material having a chemical formula of Ta.sub.xSb.sub.yTe.sub.z, wherein x, y, and z represent atomic ratios of the elements respectively; and 1≤x≤25, 0.5≤y:z≤3, and x+y+z=100. The phase change thin film material Ta.sub.xSb.sub.yTe.sub.z has a high phase change speed, outstanding thermal stability, strong data retention capability, a long cycle life, and a high yield. Ta.sub.5.7Sb.sub.37.7Te.sub.56.6 has ten-year data retention capability at 165° C.; and applying same in a device cell of a phase change memory achieves an operating speed of 6 ns and endurance of more than 1 million write-erase cycles. The crystal grains of the phase change material Ta.sub.xSb.sub.yTe.sub.z of the present disclosure are small, and after annealing treatment at 400° C. for 30 minutes, the grain size is still smaller than 30 nm.

The present disclosure relates to a chalcogenide material including germanium (Ge) with a first atomic percent, selenium (Se) with a second atomic percent that is at least twice the first atomic percent of the germanium, and indium (In) with a third atomic percent less the first atomic percent of the germanium.

A projected memory device includes a carbon-based projection component. The device includes two electrodes, a memory segment, and a projection component. The projection component and the memory segment form a dual element that connects the two electrodes. The projection component extends parallel to and in contact with the memory segment. The memory segment includes a resistive memory material, while the projection component includes a thin film of non-insulating material that essentially comprises carbon. In a particular implementation, the non-insulating material and the projection component essentially comprises amorphous carbon. Using carbon and, in particular, amorphous carbon, as a main component of the projection component, allows unprecedented flexibility to be achieved when tuning the electrical resistance of the projection component.

A selector with a superlattice-like structure and a preparation method thereof are provided, which belong to the technical field of micro-nano electronics. The selector includes a substrate, and a first metal electrode layer, a superlattice-like layer, and a second metal electrode layer sequentially stacked on the substrate. The superlattice-like layer includes n+1 first sublayers and n second sublayers alternately stacked periodically. A material of the first sublayer is amorphous carbon, and a material of the second sublayer is a chalcogenide with gating property.

Resistive switching memory cells having filament-based switching mechanisms are provided. By way of example, resistive switching memory cells having resistive filaments constrained to a core of the cell are disclosed. In other examples, methods for fabricating resistive switching memory cells to constrain a conductive filament formed in the resistive switching memory cell to a central portion of core of the cell are disclosed.

Two-terminal resistive switching devices can have a switching layer in which a filament forms and deforms to varying degrees to represent distinct logical states. This switching layer can be formed having a varying ratio, X, of nitrogen to silicon at various strata of the switching layer. Such can result in a two-terminal memory device with improved stability and other characteristics. The switching layer can be formed in a vacuum chamber in which the gas mixture has a ratio, Y, of nitrogen gas to argon gas that is varied during fabrication