Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials
Phase-change materials are functionally important materials that can be thermally interconverted between metallic (crystalline) and semiconducting (amorphous) phases on a very short time scale. Although the interconversion appears to involve a change in local atomic coordination numbers, the electro...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2009
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4149 |
| _version_ | 1848744434143854592 |
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| author | Shakhvorostov, D. Nistor, R. Krusin-Elbaum, L. Martyna, G. Newns, D. Elmegreen, B. Liu, X. Hughes, Zak Paul, S. Cabral, C. Raoux, S. Shrekenhamer, D. Basov, D. Song, Y. Mϋser, M. |
| author_facet | Shakhvorostov, D. Nistor, R. Krusin-Elbaum, L. Martyna, G. Newns, D. Elmegreen, B. Liu, X. Hughes, Zak Paul, S. Cabral, C. Raoux, S. Shrekenhamer, D. Basov, D. Song, Y. Mϋser, M. |
| author_sort | Shakhvorostov, D. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Phase-change materials are functionally important materials that can be thermally interconverted between metallic (crystalline) and semiconducting (amorphous) phases on a very short time scale. Although the interconversion appears to involve a change in local atomic coordination numbers, the electronic basis for this process is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that in a nearly vacancy-free binary GeSb system where we can drive the phase change both thermally and, as we discover, by pressure, the transformation into the amorphous phase is electronic in origin. Correlations between conductivity, total system energy, and local atomic coordination revealed by experiments and long time ab initio simulations show that the structural reorganization into the amorphous state is driven by opening of an energy gap in the electronic density of states. The electronic driving force behind the phase change has the potential to change the interconversion paradigm in this material class. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:01:24Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-4149 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:01:24Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-41492017-09-13T14:31:37Z Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials Shakhvorostov, D. Nistor, R. Krusin-Elbaum, L. Martyna, G. Newns, D. Elmegreen, B. Liu, X. Hughes, Zak Paul, S. Cabral, C. Raoux, S. Shrekenhamer, D. Basov, D. Song, Y. Mϋser, M. Phase-change materials are functionally important materials that can be thermally interconverted between metallic (crystalline) and semiconducting (amorphous) phases on a very short time scale. Although the interconversion appears to involve a change in local atomic coordination numbers, the electronic basis for this process is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that in a nearly vacancy-free binary GeSb system where we can drive the phase change both thermally and, as we discover, by pressure, the transformation into the amorphous phase is electronic in origin. Correlations between conductivity, total system energy, and local atomic coordination revealed by experiments and long time ab initio simulations show that the structural reorganization into the amorphous state is driven by opening of an energy gap in the electronic density of states. The electronic driving force behind the phase change has the potential to change the interconversion paradigm in this material class. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4149 10.1073/pnas.0812942106 National Academy of Sciences unknown |
| spellingShingle | Shakhvorostov, D. Nistor, R. Krusin-Elbaum, L. Martyna, G. Newns, D. Elmegreen, B. Liu, X. Hughes, Zak Paul, S. Cabral, C. Raoux, S. Shrekenhamer, D. Basov, D. Song, Y. Mϋser, M. Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| title | Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| title_full | Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| title_fullStr | Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| title_short | Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| title_sort | evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4149 |