CHALCOGENIDE DEVICES AND MATERIALS HAVING REDUCED GERMANIUM OR TELLURUIM CONTENT

A chalcogenide material and chalcogenide memory device exhibiting fast operation (short set pulse times) over an extended range of reset state resistances. Electrical devices containing the instant chalcogenide materials permit rapid transformations from the reset state to the set state for reset and set states having a high resistance ratio. The instant devices thus provide for high resistance contrast and improved readability of memory states while preserving fast operational speeds for the device. The chalcogenide materials include materials comprising Ge, Sb and Te in which the Ge and/or Te content is lean relative to commonly used Ge2Sb2Te5 chalcogenide composition. In one embodiment, the atomic concentration of Ge is between 11% and 22%, the atomic concentration of Sb is between 22% and 65%, and the atomic concentration of Te is between 28% and 55%. In a preferred embodiment, the atomic concentration of Ge is between 15% and 18%, the atomic concentration of Sb is between 32% and 35%, and the atomic concentration of Te is between 48% and 51%.