Evolution of crystalline microstructure in GeTe thin films for optical storage applications

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Abstract

The bit-erase process in phase-change optical storage is based on the amorphous to crystalline transformation. While there has been significant progress developing compositions and multilayered media for phase-change applications, quantitative studies of the crystallization kinetics and microstructural development are generally lacking. This paper describes work quantifying crystallization in GeTe thin films. Microstructural changes during isothermal annealing are measured using in-situ hot-stage optical microscopy. This technique measures the fraction crystallized, the number of crystallites, and crystallite radii as a function of time. These data are sufficient to deconvolute the individual contributions of nucleation and growth. We find anAvrami exponent of approximately 4, consistent with time-resolved reflection/transmission studies. This exponent is due to 2-D growth at a constant rate plus transient nucleation. The data are used in a kinetic model to simulate non-isothermal crystallization during focused-laser heating characteristic of the bit-erase process.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)89-100
Number of pages12
JournalMaterials Research Society Symposium Proceedings
Volume343
DOIs
StatePublished - 1994
EventProceedings of the 1994 MRS Spring Meeting - San Francisco, CA, USA
Duration: 4 Apr 19948 Apr 1994

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