Polymorphic Phase‐Change Properties and Memory Characteristics of VTe Thin Film

Phase‐change random access memory (PCRAM) is a leading candidate for emerging nonvolatile memory devices due to its fast switching speed, scalability, and complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility. However, traditional PCRAM relies on amorphous‐to‐crystalline switching, which suffers from high energy requirements and reliability issues. To address these challenges, in this study, the crystalline polymorphic phase‐change behavior as an alternative, which eliminates reliance on the amorphous phase and its associated limitations, is investigated. Herein, the transition‐metal tellurides, specifically a VTe binary system, are focused on and their potential for polymorphic phase transitions is investigated, leveraging insights from the crystalline polymorphic switching's dynamics of MnTe melting free phase‐change material. The binary phase diagram of VTe suggests that the polymorphic transition between the V 3 Te 4 and V 5 Te 8 phases can be obtained in the composition of V:Te ≈ 0.4:0.6. In this study, a VTe thin film is deposited and its polymorphic transition properties are investigated. The associated electrical and optical property changes are also analyzed. Finally, a VTe‐based memory device is fabricated and tested.