Crystallization behavior of N -doped Ge-rich GST thin films and nanostructures: An in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction study

Ge-rich and N-doped Ge-Sb-Te thin films patterned structures for memory applications are investigated in situ during annealing up to 500 °C with a heating rate of 2 °C/min using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The initial material is amorphous. Under these conditions, Ge crystallization occurs at 340 precedes the one cubic Ge2Sb2Te5 by about 15 °C. In monitoring diffraction allows quantification crystallized quantity, grain size elastic strain transformation. Increasing N doping reduces amount size. These results bring important insights into multiphase GST phase change materials applications.