Reversible phase-change behavior in two-dimensional antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) nanosheets

Potential two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals crystals with mechanical flexibility, transparency, and low cost are viable material platforms for future nanodevices. Resistive switching behavior in 2D layered Sb2Te3 nanosheets is demonstrated. Nearly three orders of magnitude switch in sheet resistance were realized for more than 20 cycles. The observed hysteretic behavior is due to the change between crystalline and amorphous phases under a melt-quench-recrystallization mechanism. More importantly, the energy required to amorphize the nanosheets decreases exponentially with layer thickness reduction. It is expected that scaling to the ultimate two-dimensional limit in chalcogenide nanosheet-based phase change devices may meet or even exceed the energy efficiency of neurobiological architectures. Published by AIP Publishing.