Reversible Resistance Switching Effect in Amorphous Ge1Sb4Te7 Thin Films without Phase Transformation

We demonstrate a reversible resistance switching effect that does not rely on amorphous-crystalline phase transformation in a nanoscale capacitor-like cell using Ge1Sb4Te7 films as the working material. The polarity and amplitude of the applied electric voltage switches the cell resistance between low- and high-resistance states, as revealed in the current-voltage characteristics of the film by conductive atomic force microscopy （CAFM）. This reversible SET/RESET switching effect is induced by voltage pulses and their polarity. The change of electrical resistance due to the switching effect is approximately two orders of magnitude.     

A Feasible Approach to Optical--Electrical Hybrid Data Storage Using Phase Change Material

We present our experimental results supporting optical-electrical hybrid data storage by optical recording and electrical reading using Ge2Sb2Te5as recording medium. The sheet resistance of laser-irradiated Ge2Sb2 Te5 films exhibits an abrupt change of four orders of magnitude （from 107 to 10^3 Ω/sq） with increasing laser power, current-voltage curves of the amorphous area and the laser-crystallized dots, measured by a conductive atomic force microscope （C-AFM）, show that their resistivities are 2. 725 and 3.375 × 10^-3 Ω, respectively, the surface current distribution in the films also shows high and low resistance states. All these results suggest that the laser-recorded bit can be read electrically by measuring the change of electrical resistivity, thus making opticalelectrical hybrid data storage possible.