Influence of Si and N additions on structure and phase stability of Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films

The influence of Si and N in Ge2Sb2Te5 (space group ) on structure and phase stability thereof was studied experimentally by thin film growth and characterization as well as theoretically by ab initio calculations. It was found that Si and N most probably accumulate in the amorphous matrix embedding Ge2Sb2Te5 grains. The incorporation of Si and N in these samples causes an increase of the crystallization temperature and the formation of finer grains. N is more efficient in increasing the crystallization temperature and in reducing the grain size than Si which can be understood based on the bonding analysis. The incorporation of both Si and N in Ge2Sb2Te5 is energetically unfavourable, leading to finer grains and larger crystallization temperatures. While in the case of Si additions no significant changes in bonding are observed, N additions appear to enable the formation of strong Te–N bonds in the amorphous matrix, which are shown to be almost twice as strong as the strongest bonds in unalloyed Ge2Sb2Te5.