US 12,114,580 B2
Phase-change memory cell
Paolo Giuseppe Cappelletti, Seveso (IT); and Gabriele Navarro, Moirans (FR)
Filed by STMICROELECTRONICS S.r.l., Agrate Brianza (IT); and COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, Paris (FR)
Filed on Apr. 21, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/305,268.
Application 18/305,268 is a continuation of application No. 17/166,474, filed on Feb. 3, 2021, granted, now 11,653,579.
Claims priority of application No. 2001192 (FR), filed on Feb. 6, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0389450 A1, Nov. 30, 2023
Int. Cl. G11C 11/00 (2006.01); G11C 13/00 (2006.01); H10N 70/00 (2023.01); H10N 70/20 (2023.01)
CPC H10N 70/231 (2023.02) [G11C 13/0004 (2013.01); G11C 13/0069 (2013.01); H10N 70/8413 (2023.02); H10N 70/8828 (2023.02); G11C 2013/008 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A phase-change memory cell, comprising:
a heater;
a stack including:
a layer including germanium; and
a first alloy including germanium, antimony, and tellurium;
a second alloy including germanium, antimony, and tellurium, the second alloy having a higher germanium concentration than the first alloy;
a resistive layer between the heater and the stack, the second alloy extending from the resistive layer and through the layer;
a conductive layer in contact with a top surface of the stack; and
an insulating region laterally surrounding and in contact with sidewalls of the stack and sidewalls of a lower portion of the conductive layer, an upper portion of the conductive layer being positioned on top of the insulating region.