This work reports the phase-change behavior and thermal stability of doped GeSbTe/GeSbTe bilayers. We prepared the bilayers using RF sputtering, and annealed them at annealing temperature ranging from 100℃ to 400℃. The sheet resistance of the bilayer decreased and saturated with increasing annealing temperature, and the saturated value was close to that of pure GeSbTe film. The surface of the bilayer roughened at 400℃, which corresponds to the surface roughening of doped GeSbTe film. Mixed phases of face-centered cubic and hexagonal close-packed crystalline structures were identified in the bilayers annealed at elevated temperature. These results indicate that the phase-change behavior of the bilayer depends on the concurrent phase-transitions of the two GeSbTe-based films. The dopants in the doped GeSbTe film were diffused out at annealing temperatures of 300℃ or higher, which implies that the thermal stability of the bilayer should be considered for its application in phase-change electronic devices.
