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Microscopic studies of fast phase transformations in GeSbTe films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Ralf Detemple ,
Inés Friedrich ,
Walter Njoroge ,
Ingo Thomas ,
Volker Weidenhof ,
Han-Willem Wöltgens ,
Stefan Ziegler  and
Matthias Wuttig
Ralf Detemple
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Inés Friedrich
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Walter Njoroge
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Ingo Thomas
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Volker Weidenhof
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Han-Willem Wöltgens
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Stefan Ziegler
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Matthias Wuttig
Affiliation:
I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH-Aachen, 52056 Aachen, Germany
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Abstract

Vital requirements for the future success of phase change media are high data transfer rates, i.e. fast processes to read, write and erase bits of information. The understanding and optimization of fast transformations is a considerable challenge since the processes only occur on a submicrometer length scale in actual bits. Hence both high temporal and spatial resolution is needed to unravel the essential details of the phase transformation. We employ a combination of fast optical measurements with microscopic analyses using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The AFM measurements exploit the fact that the phase transformation from amorphous to crystalline is accompanied by a 6% volume reduction. This enables a measurement of the vertical and lateral speed of the phase transformation. Several examples will be presented showing the information gained by this combination of techniques.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 674: Symposia T/U/V – Applications of Ferromagnetic and Optical Materials, Storage and Magnetoelectronics , 2001 , V1.8
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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