Analytical Sciences


Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 36(1), 5 (2020).

Local- and Intermediate-Range Structures on Ordinary and Exotic Phase-Change Materials by Anomalous X-ray Scattering
Jens Rüdiger STELLHORN,*1 Shinya HOSOKAWA,*2 and Shinji KOHARA*3,*4,*5
*1 Department of Applied Chemistry, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan
*2 Department of Physics, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
*3 Research Center for Advanced Measurement and Characterization, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
*4 Center for Materials Research by Information Integration (CMI2), Research and Services Division of Materials Data and Integrated System (MaDIS), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan
*5 PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 7 Gobancho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan
Local- and intermediate-range atomic structures were investigated on amorphous phases of an ordinary phase-change material, Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), and an exotic one, Cu2GeTe3 (CGT), by using anomalous X-ray scattering close to K absorption edges of each element to find a fast amorphous-crystalline phase-change mechanism. The obtained data were analyzed by using reverse Monte Carlo modeling to obtain partial structure factors, partial pair distribution functions, and three-dimensional atomic configurations. Ring statistics were carefully examined to clarify the similarity and difference compared with the corresponding crystal structures, and it was found that amorphous GST has a number of four-membered rings indicating fragments of crystal structure, and amorphous CGT has a remarkable number of three-membered rings showing a collapse of crystal structures composed of purely six-membered rings. A persistent homology analysis was carried out and long-range ring structures of the constituent elements were observed in the amorphous phase, which may originate from fragments of crystal structures with a long-range periodicity.