Abstract
The dielectric function of phase-change materials (PCMs) presents a tremendous difference for the amorphous and crystalline states. Therefore, the measurement of the mid-infrared transparency of thin films of PCMs will provide a cost-efficient method to reveal the dependence of amorphous-crystalline phase transition on their compositions. Although Sb–Te–Se system has shown the advantages of the high speed, low power consumption and long retention life, the information on the mid-infrared transparency of Sb–Te–Se thin films is still insufficient. In our investigation, combinatorial materials libraries of Sb–Te–Se thin films were synthesized. The composition and mid-infrared spectral transmittance of each pixel of Sb–Te–Se thin film in the library were characterized using the energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, respectively. The in-depth chemical composition for randomly selected pixels was identified using secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The crystallographic structure of some pixels was also identified using micro-area X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD). It can be found that, with the change of composition in Sb–Te–Se thin films, their mid-infrared spectral transmittance can be organized into three distinctive groups, corresponding to amorphous Sb–Se, Sb2Se3 orthorhombic structure and Sb2Te3 rhombohedral structure, respectively. Therefore, the amorphous-crystalline phase transition and the phase-change from the orthorhombic structure of Sb2Se3 to the rhombohedral structure of Sb2Te3 can be completely reflected in the mid-infrared spectral transmittance of Sb–Te–Se thin films.
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant No. 61675223, Shandong Province Natural Science Foundation, China under Grant No. ZR2017MF018, Innovation Program in Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, under Grant No. CX-173. Authors are grateful to Prof. X. M. Meng and Mrs. X. C. Wang in Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (IPC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, for their help in performing the stoichiometry and surface morphology analyzes. Our gratitude also to Prof. X. P. Gu in the School of Geosciences and InfoPhysics, Central North University for his help in performing the micro-area X-ray diffraction analyzes, and to Dr. S. Pan in Institute of Materials Science, Nanchang University for his help in performing the secondary ions mass spectroscopy analyzes.
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Xie, P., Li, B., Chen, G. et al. Compositions, structures, and mid-infrared transparency of Sb–Te–Se thin films synthesized using a combinatorial method. Appl. Phys. A 127, 34 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-04216-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-04216-8