Electric device comprising phase change material

Abstract

The electric device (1, 100) has a body (2, 101) with a resistor (7, 250) comprising a phase change material being changeable between a first phase and a second phase. The resistor (7, 250) has an electric resistance which depends on whether the phase change material is in the first phase or the second phase. The resistor (7, 250) is able to conduct a current for enabling a transition from the first phase to the second phase. The phase change material is a fast growth material which may be a composition of formula Sb1−cMc with c satisfying 0.05≤c≤0.61, and M being one or more elements selected from the group of Ge, In, Ag, Ga, Te, Zn and Sn, or a composition of formula SbaTebX100−(a+b) with a, b and 100−(a+b) denoting atomic percentages satisfying 1≤a/b≤8 and 4≤100−(a+b)≤22, and X being one or more elements selected from Ge, In, Ag, Ga and Zn.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An electric device with a body having a resistor comprising a phase change material being changeable between a first phase and a second phase via crystallization initiating at an interface between crystalline and amorphous materials, the resistor having an electric resistance which depends on whether the phase change material is in the first phase or the second phase, the resistor being able to conduct a current for enabling a transition from the first phase to the second phase, the phase change material being a fast growth material, wherein the phase change material is a composition of formula Sb 1−c ,M c , with c satisfying 0.05≤c≤0.61, and M being one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Ge, In, Ag, Ga, Te, and Znand Sn, wherein the phase change material comprises In or Sn in concentrations which range in total between 5 and 30 atomic percent, and wherein the phase change material is substantially free of Te. 
     
     
       2. An electric device comprising:
 a crystallization layer; and   a resistor including a fast-growth phase change material on the crystallization layer that is changeable from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase in response to an electrical pulse, wherein crystallization of the phase change material is configured to initiate at an interface with the crystallization layer, wherein the phase change material does not include Sn, wherein the phase change material comprises In in concentrations between 5 and 30 atomic percent, and wherein the phase change material is substantially free of Te.   
     
     
       3. The electric device of claim 2, wherein a first phase is an amorphous phase having a first electrical resistance, and a second phase is a crystalline phase having a second electrical resistance and wherein a second resistance is smaller than the first resistance. 
     
     
       4. The electric device of claim 2, wherein the phase change material is a fast-growth material having a composition of formula Sb 1−c M c , with c satisfying 0.05≤c≤0.61, and M being one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Ge, In, Ag, Ga, and Zn. 
     
     
       5. The device of claim 4, wherein the phase change material is configured to change from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase in response to an electrical pulse of approximately 0.5 V. 
     
     
       6. The device of claim 4, wherein the phase change material is configured to be responsive to an electrical pulse by crystallizing without nucleation. 
     
     
       7. The device of claim 4, wherein the phase change material is configured to crystallize at a rate of at least 1 m/s in response to an electrical pulse. 
     
     
       8. The device of claim 4, wherein the phase change material is configured to be responsive to an electrical pulse by crystallizing to change the electrical resistance of the resistor in less than 20 nanoseconds. 
     
     
       9. An electric device with a body having a resistor, comprising:
 a fast-growth phase change material that is changeable between a first phase and a second phase by crystallization that initiates at an interface between crystalline and amorphous materials, wherein the resistor has an electrical resistance which depends on whether the phase change material is in the first phase or the second phase, wherein the resistor is configured to conduct a current for enabling a transition from the first phase to the second phase, wherein the phase change material is a composition of formula Sb 1−c M c , with M being one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Ge, In, Ag, Ga, and Zn, wherein the phase change material comprises In in concentrations ranging between 5 and 30 atomic percent, and wherein the phase change material is substantially free of Te.   
     
     
       10. The electric device of claim 9, wherein c satisfies 0.05≤c≤0.5. 
     
     
       11. The electric device of claim 9, wherein c satisfies 0.10≤c≤0.5. 
     
     
       12. The electric device of claim 9, wherein the first phase is an amorphous phase having a first electrical resistance, and the second phase is a crystalline phase having a second electrical resistance, and wherein the second resistance is smaller than the first resistance.