Patent ID: 7897958

Claim:
A phase-change memory device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; an insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate; a first electrode and a second electrode, both formed separately from each other on the insulating film so that a part of a surface of the insulating film is exposed; a phase-change material layer formed to cover at least a part of the exposed surface of the insulating film and to be in contact with the first electrode and the second electrode; and a resistive layer formed to cover a surface of the phase-change material layer, wherein the phase-change material layer is made of a phase-change material which is stable in at least one of an amorphous phase and a crystalline phase at room temperature, and wherein the resistance value of the resistive layer is smaller than the resistance value that the phase-change material layer exhibits in the amorphous phase, but is larger than the resistance value that the phase-change material layer exhibits in the crystalline phase.