Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Decoding the Atomic Structure of Ga2Te5 PLD Films for Memory Applications using Diffraction and First-Principles Simulations

Andrey Tverjanovich
ORCID logo ,
Chris J Benmore
ORCID logo ,
Maxim Khomenko
,
Anton Sokolov
ORCID logo ,
Daniele Fontanari
,
Sergei Bereznev
,
Maria Bokova
ORCID logo ,
Mohammad Kassem
,
Eugene Bychkov
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 15 June 2023 / Approved: 16 June 2023 / Online: 16 June 2023 (08:26:05 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Tverjanovich, A.; Benmore, C.J.; Khomenko, M.; Sokolov, A.; Fontanari, D.; Bereznev, S.; Bokova, M.; Kassem, M.; Bychkov, E. Decoding the Atomic Structure of Ga2Te5 Pulsed Laser Deposition Films for Memory Applications Using Diffraction and First-Principles Simulations. Nanomaterials 2023, 13, 2137. Tverjanovich, A.; Benmore, C.J.; Khomenko, M.; Sokolov, A.; Fontanari, D.; Bereznev, S.; Bokova, M.; Kassem, M.; Bychkov, E. Decoding the Atomic Structure of Ga2Te5 Pulsed Laser Deposition Films for Memory Applications Using Diffraction and First-Principles Simulations. Nanomaterials 2023, 13, 2137.

Abstract

Neuromorphic computing, reconfigurable optical metamaterials operational over a wide spectral range, holographic and nonvolatile displays of extremely high resolution, integrated smart photonics and many other applications need phase-change materials (PCMs) of the next generation with better energy efficiency, wider temperature and spectral range for reliable operation compared to current flagship PCMs as Ge2Sb2Te5 or doped Sb2Te. Gallium tellurides are promising candidates to achieve the necessary requirements because of higher melting and crystallization temperatures, combined with a low switching power and fast switching rate. At the same time, Ga2Te3 and non-stoichiometric alloys appear to be atypical PCMs, characterized by regular tetrahedral structure and the absence of metavalent bonding. The sp3 gallium hybridization in cubic and amorphous Ga2Te3 is also different from conventional p-bonding in flagship PCMs, raising a question of the phase-change mechanism. Besides, gallium tellurides exhibit a number of unexpected and highly unusual phenomena as nanotectonic compression or viscosity anomaly just above melting. Using high-energy X-ray diffraction, supported by first-principles simulations, we will unravel the atomic structure of amorphous Ga2Te5 PLD films, compare it with the crystal structure of tetragonal gallium pentatelluride, and investigate electrical, optical and thermal properties of these two materials to estimate their potential for memory applications as well as for other fields.

Keywords

phase-change materials; synchrotron diffraction; first-principles molecular dynamics

Subject

Chemistry and Materials Science, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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