Phase-Change Memory and Optical Data Storage

Phase-change memory is regarded as the most appealing of the nonvolatile memory technologies, with attractive properties including scalability, bit alterability, and fast write/erase and read performance. Over the past decade, the technology has experienced rapid growth. Well-known semiconductor manufacturers such as IBM, Infineon, Samsung, and Macronix have spared no effort in the push to commercialize this technology. At the same time, many novel phase-change materials have been developed, such as typical Ge-Sb-Te alloys, Zn-Sb-Te alloys, and ZnO-\(\mathrm{Sb_{2}Te_{3}}\) nanocomposite.

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