Laser pulse induced bumps in chalcogenide phase change films

Formation of bumps in chalcogenide phase change thin films during the laser writing process is theoretically and experimentally investigated. The process involves basically fast heating and quenching stages. Circular bumps are formed after cooling, and the shape and size of the bumps depend on various parameters such as temperatures, laser power, beam size, laser pulse duration, etc. In extreme cases, holes are formed at the apex of the bumps. To understand the bumps and their formation is of great interest for data storage. In the present work, a theoretical model is established for the formation process, and the geometric characters of the formed bumps can be analytically and quantitatively evaluated from various parameters involved in the formation. Simulations based on the analytic solution are carried out taking Ag8In14Sb55Te23 as an example. The results are verified with experimental observations of the bumps. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Laser-induced changes on the complex refractive indices of phase-change thin film

The refractive indices of crystalline phase-change films are usually obtained by thermal-induced crystallization. However, this is not accurate, because the crystallization of phase-change film in rewritable optical disks is laser induced. In this study, we use the initializer to crystallize the phase-change films. The dependence of the refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k of the phase-change films on the initialization conditions are studied. Remarkable changes of the refractive indices (especially k) are found when the initialization laser power density is 6.63 mW/mum(2) and the initialization velocity is 4.0 m/s. At the same time, the structure changes of the phase-change films are also studied. This dependence is explained by the structure change of the films. These results are significant in improving the accuracy of optical design and the thermal simulation of phase-change optical disks, as well as in the study of phase-change optical disks at shorter wavelengths. (C) 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Optical properties and structure of Sb-rich AgInSbTe phase change thin films

A new composition content quaternary-alloy-based phase change thin film, Sb-rich AgInSbTe, has been prepared by DC-magnetron sputtering on a K9 glass substrate. After the film has been subsequently annealed at 200degreesC for 30 min, it becomes a crystalline thin film. The diffraction peak of antimony (Sb) are observed by shallow (0.5 degree) x-ray diffraction in the quaternary alloy thin film. The analyses of the measurement from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) show that the crystallization temperature of the phase change thin film is about 190degreesC and increases with the heating rate. By Kissinger plot, the activation energy for crystallization is determined to be 3.05eV. The reflectivity, refractive index and extinction coefficient of the crystalline and amorphous phase change thin films are presented. The optical absorption coefficient of the phase change thin films as a function of photon energy is obtained from the extinction coefficient. The optical band gaps of the amorphous and crystallization phase change thin films are 0.265eV and 1.127eV, respectively.

Temperature dependence of thermal properties of Ag8In14Sb55Te23 phase-change memory materials

The dependence of thermal properties of Ag8In14Sb55Te23 phase-change memory materials in crystalline and amorphous states on temperature was measured and analyzed. The results show that in the crystalline state, the thermal properties monotonically decrease with the temperature and present obvious crystalline semiconductor characteristics. The heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity decrease from 0.35 J/g K, 1.85 mm(2)/s, and 4.0 W/m K at 300 K to 0.025 J/g K, 1.475 mm(2)/s, and 0.25 W/m K at 600 K, respectively. In the amorphous state, while the dependence of thermal properties on temperature does not present significant changes, the materials retain the glass-like thermal characteristics. Within the temperature range from 320 K to 440 K, the heat capacity fluctuates between 0.27 J/g K and 0.075 J/g K, the thermal diffusivity basically maintains at 0.525 mm(2)/s, and the thermal conductivity decreases from 1.02 W/m K at 320 K to 0.2 W/m K at 440 K. Whether in the crystalline or amorphous state, Ag8In14Sb55Te23 are more thermally active than Ge2Sb2Te5, that is, the Ag8In14Sb55Te23 composites bear stronger thermal conduction and diffusion than the Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change memory materials.

Crystal-growth in floating zone with phase-change and thermosolutal convections

Floating zone crystal growth in microgravity environment is investigated numerically by a finite element method for semiconductor growth processing, which involves thermocapillary convection, phase change convection, thermal diffusion and solutal diffusion. The configurations of phase change interfaces and distributions of velocity, temperature and concentration fields are analyzed for typical conditions of pulling rates and segregation coefficients. The influence of phase change convection on the distribution of concentration is studied in detail. The results show that the thermocapillary convection plays an important role in mixing up the melt with dopant. The deformations of phase change interfaces by thermal convection-diffusion and pulling rods make larger variation of concentration field in comparison with the case of plane interfaces.

Coupling of melting-solidification phase-change convection with floating-zone convection under microgravity

A finite element algorithm is used to analyze the process of floating zone crystal growth under microgravity. The effect of phase change convection coupled with surface tension convection is considered. The results show that the rate of crystal growth is very important. The single-crystal-melt interface is steeper than the feed-melt interface during the process of crystal growth. When the rate exceeds a critical value, the Marangoni vortex near the feed-melt interface will become so large that a secondary vortex will exist.

A feasible approach to optical-electrical hybrid data storage using phase change material

We present our experimental results supporting optical-electrical hybrid data storage by optical recording and electrical reading using Ge2Sb2Te5as recording medium. The sheet resistance of laser- irradiated Ge2Sb2Te5. lms exhibits an abrupt change of four orders of magnitude ( from 10 7 to 10 3./ sq) with increasing laser power, current- voltage curves of the amorphous area and the laser- crystallized dots, measured by a conductive atomic force microscope ( C- AFM), show that their resistivities are 2.725 and 3.375 x 10- 3., respectively, the surface current distribution in the. lms also shows high and low resistance states. All these results suggest that the laser- recorded bit can be read electrically by measuring the change of electrical resistivity, thus making optical electrical hybrid data storage possible.