Nucleus-driven crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5: A density functional study

Early stages of nucleus-driven crystallization of the prototype phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 have been studied by density functional/molecular dynamics simulations for amorphous samples (460 and 648 atoms) at 500, 600, and 700 K. All systems assumed a fixed cubic seed of 58 atoms and 6 vacancies. Crystallization occurs within 600 ps for the 460-atom system at 600 and 700 K, and signs of crystallization (nucleus growth, percolation) are present in the others. Crystallization is accompanied by an increase in the number of “ABAB squares” (A: Ge, Sb, B: Te), and atoms of all elements move significantly. There is no evidence of cavity movement to the crystal-glass interface, as suggested recently, and the existence of Te-Te, Ge-Ge, Ge-Sb, and Sb-Sb (“wrong”) bonds is an inevitable consequence of rapid crystallization.