Off-Current Analysis with Temperature-Dependent Subthreshold Conduction in SiTe Based Amorphous Chalcogenides for Ovonic Threshold Switching Selector Application

Ovonic threshold switch (OTS) selectors are promising devices to suppress leakage current of emerging memories in a cross-point architecture.In this study, enhanced OTS selector performance by nitrogen doping on amorphous SiTe chalcogenide was analyzed by focusing on the subthreshold region with different temperatures.The parameters of trap states including effective trap density, inter-trap distance, and activation energy are known to govern the subthreshold behaviors of amorphous chalcogenides.The parameters derived from a trap limited Poole-Frenkel based conduction model and Arrhenius plot closely correlate with the nitrogen doping effect on SiTe.Increased inter-trap distance, lowered trap density, and raised activation energy by N doping hamper electron hopping through trap states, thereby suppressing the leakage current.