New insights in GeTe growth mechanisms

The compound GeTe, despite its simple stoichiometry, is rather unconventional and has been investigated both from a fundamental and technological perspective: it is of high interest for several technologies such as data-storage (phase change memories) and thermoelectricity. The understanding of GeTe growth is thus a key issue for technological applications and fundamental understanding. In this work, GeTe crystallization kinetics is compared to Ge/Te reactive diffusion kinetics using in situ X-ray diffraction measurements, as well as in situ transmission electron microscopy. GeTe crystallization from an amorphous solid solution exhibiting the stoichiometry of the compound GeTe is found to occur at the same temperature as for the reactive diffusion of an amorphous Ge layer on top of a polycrystalline Te layer. Furthermore, GeTe growth is of tridimensional type in the two cases, and can be modeled by the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model. Using this model, the activation energies of nucleation and growth were determined for both crystallization and reactive diffusion. The results suggest that GeTe exhibits nucleation/reaction kinetics unusually low compared to atomic transport kinetics, contrasting with other germanides.