Multiple phase transitions in Sc doped Sb2Te3 amorphous nanocomposites under high pressure

Zhang, Teng; Zhang, Kai; Wang, Gang; Greenberg, Eran; Prakapenka, Vitali B.; Yang, Wenge

doi:10.1063/1.5131489

Title: Multiple phase transitions in Sc doped Sb₂Te₃ amorphous nanocomposites under high pressure

Journal Article · Mon Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5131489· OSTI ID:1800806

Zhang, Teng ^[1]; Zhang, Kai ^[2]; Wang, Gang ^[3];

^[4];

^[2]

Shanghai University (China); Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR), Shanghai (China)
Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR), Shanghai (China)
Shanghai University (China)
Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Center for Advanced Radiation Sources

Subnanosecond switching speed from an amorphous state with stable crystal precursors to the crystalline state was recently achieved in amorphous Sc-doped Sb₂Te₃ (a-SST) phase change materials (PCMs), which is about two orders of magnitude faster than that in the well-studied Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ and Ge₁Sb₂Te₄ PCMs. However, the phase change mechanism and phase stability of a-SST remain unknown. Here, we prepared amorphous Sc_0.3Sb₂Te₃ nanocomposites within a minute amount of face-centered-cubic (FCC) type nanograins embedded in the amorphous matrix. Using in situ high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we found that nanograins were frustrated under high pressure and gradually dissolved into the matrix around 11.0 GPa. Beyond 11.0 GPa, the a-SST matrix transformed into a uniform high density metallic like amorphous state with a five orders of magnitude drop in electric resistivity compared to the pristine materials. When further compressed to 23.97 GPa, the high density amorphous (HDA) phase switched into a body-centered-cubic (BCC) high-pressure structure, a different phase from the ambient pressure crystalline structure. Upon decompression back to ambient pressure, a pure amorphous phase was sustained. The present study provides additional insight into the phase change mechanism of amorphous nanocomposites.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: FG02-94ER14466; AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1800806

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 116, Issue 2; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Multiple phase transitions in Sc doped Sb2Te3 amorphous nanocomposites under high pressure

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Title: Multiple phase transitions in Sc doped Sb₂Te₃ amorphous nanocomposites under high pressure