The effect of Ta interface on the crystallization of amorphous phase change material thin films

Abstract

The crystallization of amorphous GeTe and Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change material films, with thickness between 10 and 100 nm, sandwiched between either Ta or SiO2 layers, was investigated by optical reflectivity. Ta cladding layers were found to increase the crystallization temperature, even for films as thick as 100 nm. X-Ray diffraction investigations of crystallized GeTe films showed a very weak texture in Ta cladded films, in contrast with the strong texture observed for SiO2 cladding layers. This study shows that crystallization mechanism of phase change materials can be highly impacted by interface effects, even for relatively thick films.