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Towards an atomistic understanding of phase change materials

C. STEIMER1,* , W. WELNIC1, J. KALB1, MATTHIAS WUTTIG1

Affiliation

  1. I. Institute of Physics (IA), RWTH-Aachen University, D52056 Aachen, Germany

Abstract

Despite their widespread commercial applications, phase change alloy optimization still heavily relies on trial and error. While the crystalline structures are accessible by diffraction, the structures of the amorphous phases are still fairly unknown and thus hamper an atomistic understanding of the speed and pronounced property contrast on crystallization. This contribution gives an overview on the current understanding of the influence of stoichiometry on both phases. The recent renaissance of phase change materials raised by non-volatile electronic memory applications triggered remarkable insight in some amorphous structures, leading to an atomistic understanding of the phase change process that may be turned into design rules for future materials..

Keywords

AgInTe2, AgSbTe2, Phase change materials, Non-volatile electronic memory.

Submitted at: Nov. 3, 2006
Accepted at: Nov. 2, 2006

Citation

C. STEIMER, W. WELNIC, J. KALB, MATTHIAS WUTTIG, Towards an atomistic understanding of phase change materials, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Vol. 8, Iss. 6, pp. 2044-2050 (2006)