Crystallization of GeTe phase change thin films grown by pulsed electron-beam deposition

Abstract

In this work, a technique for crystallization of Germanium Telluride (GeTe) thin films was experimentally studied. The GeTe phase change material was grown by a novel high vacuum physical deposition method called pulse electron-beam deposition (PED). To evaluate the quality of the PED growth method, crystallized GeTe thin films were investigated by contemplating the crystallite quality and the electrical conductivity performance. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) spectrum and resistivity were used to evaluate the crystal quality. Alternative material characterization methods, like field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), were used to explore the crystallization parameters further. Our previous study observed that the as-grown GeTe thin film was amorphous. In order to convert the GeTe thin film into a crystalline formation, post treatment annealing was performed. To optimize the post annealing procedure, several annealing parameters were experimentally investigated. The thin film resistivity dropped by six orders of magnitude upon the crystallization process.