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Title: Origin of the reverse optical-contrast change of Ga-Sb phase-change materials—An ab initio molecular-dynamics study

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4870810· OSTI ID:22261575

A large number of phase-change materials (PCMs) have been developed experimentally; however, only Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}-based PCMs have been significantly explored using ab initio molecular-dynamics (AIMD) simulations. We present an AIMD study of the full melt/quench/anneal PC cycle for Ga-Sb materials, namely, the stoichiometric composition, GaSb, and the near-eutectic alloy, Ga{sub 16}Sb{sub 84}. The calculated electronic densities of states and optical reflectivities are compared between the amorphous and crystalline phases for both compositions, and it is shown that the contrasting opto-electronic properties of each crystalline material can be attributed to different structural transformations of Ga and Sb on crystallization from the amorphous state.

OSTI ID:
22261575
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 14; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English