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Highly tunable β-relaxation enables the tailoring of crystallization in phase-change materials

Author

Listed:
  • Yudong Cheng

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University
    RWTH Aachen University)

  • Qun Yang

    (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)

  • Jiangjing Wang

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University
    RWTH Aachen University)

  • Theodoros Dimitriadis

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Mathias Schumacher

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Huiru Zhang

    (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)

  • Maximilian J. Müller

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Narges Amini

    (Aarhus University)

  • Fan Yang

    (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR))

  • Alexander Schoekel

    (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY)

  • Julian Pries

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Riccardo Mazzarello

    (Sapienza University of Rome)

  • Matthias Wuttig

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Hai-Bin Yu

    (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)

  • Shuai Wei

    (Aarhus University
    Aarhus University)

Abstract

In glasses, secondary (β-) relaxations are the predominant source of atomic dynamics. Recently, they have been discovered in covalently bonded glasses, i.e., amorphous phase-change materials (PCMs). However, it is unclear what the mechanism of β-relaxations is in covalent systems and how they are related to crystallization behaviors of PCMs that are crucial properties for non-volatile memories and neuromorphic applications. Here we show direct evidence that crystallization is strongly linked to β-relaxations. We find that the β-relaxation in Ge15Sb85 possesses a high tunability, which enables a manipulation of crystallization kinetics by an order of magnitude. In-situ synchrotron X-ray scattering, dielectric functions, and ab-initio calculations indicate that the weakened β-relaxation intensity stems from a local reinforcement of Peierls-like distortions, which increases the rigidity of the bonding network and decreases the dynamic heterogeneity. Our findings offer a conceptually new approach to tuning the crystallization of PCMs based on manipulating the β-relaxations.

Suggested Citation

  • Yudong Cheng & Qun Yang & Jiangjing Wang & Theodoros Dimitriadis & Mathias Schumacher & Huiru Zhang & Maximilian J. Müller & Narges Amini & Fan Yang & Alexander Schoekel & Julian Pries & Riccardo Mazz, 2022. "Highly tunable β-relaxation enables the tailoring of crystallization in phase-change materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-35005-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35005-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Martin Salinga & Egidio Carria & Andreas Kaldenbach & Manuel Bornhöfft & Julia Benke & Joachim Mayer & Matthias Wuttig, 2013. "Measurement of crystal growth velocity in a melt-quenched phase-change material," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Abu Sebastian & Manuel Le Gallo & Daniel Krebs, 2014. "Crystal growth within a phase change memory cell," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, September.
    3. F. Zhu & H. K. Nguyen & S. X. Song & Daisman P. B. Aji & A. Hirata & H. Wang & K. Nakajima & M. W. Chen, 2016. "Intrinsic correlation between β-relaxation and spatial heterogeneity in a metallic glass," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, September.
    4. Christoph Persch & Maximilian J. Müller & Aakash Yadav & Julian Pries & Natalie Honné & Peter Kerres & Shuai Wei & Hajime Tanaka & Paolo Fantini & Enrico Varesi & Fabio Pellizzer & Matthias Wuttig, 2021. "The potential of chemical bonding to design crystallization and vitrification kinetics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tomoki Fujita & Yuhan Chen & Yoshio Kono & Seiya Takahashi & Hidetaka Kasai & Davide Campi & Marco Bernasconi & Koji Ohara & Hirokatsu Yumoto & Takahisa Koyama & Hiroshi Yamazaki & Yasunori Senba & Ha, 2023. "Pressure-induced reversal of Peierls-like distortions elicits the polyamorphic transition in GeTe and GeSe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Simon Wintersteller & Olesya Yarema & Dhananjeya Kumaar & Florian M. Schenk & Olga V. Safonova & Paula M. Abdala & Vanessa Wood & Maksym Yarema, 2024. "Unravelling the amorphous structure and crystallization mechanism of GeTe phase change memory materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.

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