Laser-induced patterning for a diffraction grating using the phase change material of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) as a spatial light modulator in X-ray optics: a proof of concept

Abstract

The proposed X-ray spatial light modulator (SLM) concept is based on the difference of X-ray scattering from amorphous and crystalline regions of phase change materials (PCMs) such as Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). In our X-ray SLM design, the “on” and “off” states correspond to a patterned and homogeneous state of a GST thin film, respectively. The patterned state is obtained by exposing the homogeneous film to laser pulses. In this paper, we present patterning results in GST thin films characterized by microwave impedance microscopy and X-ray small-angle scattering at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.