Sn–Te–Se Films for Reversible Phase-Change Optical Recording

Abstract

Characteristics of optical recording films that consist of Sn–Te–Se and have an amorphous crystalline phase change recording mechanism are analyzed. High crystallization temperatures and high crystallization activation energies, which certify the long life of the recorded dots, can be obtained for compositions whose ratio of Sn concentration to Se concentration is about 1 to 2. Among these compositions, high speed erasing, long life of the recorded dots, and high recording sensitivity are achieved in compositions whose Te concentration is 10 to 20 at%. When the Te concentration is 50 to 60 at% and the Se concentration is 17 to 25 at%, the crystallization temperature of the recorded dots is much lower than that of the as-deposited amorphous state.