Crystallization of ion amorphized Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films in presence of cubic or hexagonal phase

The crystallization kinetics of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) thin films, generated by ion implantation, on top of crystalline GST, either in the cubic or hexagonal phase, was investigated by means of time resolved reflectivity measurements, x-ray diffraction, in situ transmission electron microscopy, and Raman analyses. The crystallization occurred at a lower temperature with respect to a fully amorphous film and in both cases the crystalline phase started growing at the underlying amorphous-crystalline (a-c) interface. However, it was not a solid phase epitaxial growth since cubic GST was always obtained, independent of the phase of the underlying crystal. We speculate that the a-c interface behaves as a continuous region of potential nucleation sites in the crystallization making the crystallization process more efficient.