Ultrafast Ge-Te bond dynamics in a phase-change superlattice
Malvestuto M, Caretta A, Casarin B, Cilento F, Dell'Angela M, Fausti D, Calarco R, Kooi BJ, Varesi E, Robertson J, Parmigiani F (2016)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2016
Journal
Book Volume: 94
Article Number: 094310
Journal Issue: 9
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.94.094310
Abstract
A long-standing question for avant-garde data storage technology concerns the nature of the ultrafast photoinduced phase transformations in the wide class of chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs). Overall, a comprehensive understanding of the microstructural evolution and the relevant kinetics mechanisms accompanying the out-of-equilibrium phases is still missing. Here, after overheating a phase-change chalcogenide superlattice by an ultrafast laser pulse, we indirectly track the lattice relaxation by time resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy (tr-XAS) with a sub-ns time resolution. The approach to the tr-XAS experimental results reported in this work provides an atomistic insight of the mechanism that takes place during the cooling process; meanwhile a first-principles model mimicking the microscopic distortions accounts for a straightforward representation of the observed dynamics. Finally, we envisage that our approach can be applied in future studies addressing the role of dynamical structural strain in PCMs.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.
Italy (IT)
Università degli Studi di Trieste
Italy (IT)
Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik - Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Germany (DE)
University of Groningen / Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Netherlands (NL)
Micron Semiconductor Italia, S.r.l.
Italy (IT)
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom (GB)
Italy (IT)
Università degli Studi di Trieste
Italy (IT)
Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik - Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Germany (DE)
University of Groningen / Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Netherlands (NL)
Micron Semiconductor Italia, S.r.l.
Italy (IT)
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom (GB)
How to cite
APA:
Malvestuto, M., Caretta, A., Casarin, B., Cilento, F., Dell'Angela, M., Fausti, D.,... Parmigiani, F. (2016). Ultrafast Ge-Te bond dynamics in a phase-change superlattice. Physical Review B, 94(9). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.094310
MLA:
Malvestuto, Marco, et al. "Ultrafast Ge-Te bond dynamics in a phase-change superlattice." Physical Review B 94.9 (2016).
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