Recrystallization of an amorphized epitaxial phase-change alloy: A phoenix arising from the ashes

摘要

Epitaxial Ge2Sb2Te5 films grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy were reversibly switched between crystalline and amorphous states over a large area using femtosecond laser pulses. The structural and spatial homogeneity of the as-grown epitaxial and laser-switched areas on the sample were investigated by synchrotron nanofocus high resolution x-ray diffraction. The investigation clearly demonstrated that the single crystalline metastable cubic phase of Ge2Sb2Te5 is restored after switching. No polycrystalline features, not only on the average but even on the nanometer scale of the x-ray beam, were observed.