Crystallization time of the ternary Ge-Sb-Te alloys and their aptitude to optical disk media at higher linear velocity

The difference in crystallization time of several kinds of ternary GeSbTe alloys have been evaluated to make clear hov fast the erasable linear velocity of a phase change type optical disk can be and hov long the amorphous data lifetime is. Results showed that the crystallization time can be shorter than 50 ns at a wide composition range of the pseudo-binary alloy (GeTe)x(Sb2Te3)l-x,(0>x>l), where the erasable linear velocity exceeds 30 m/s. Although, the amorphous data lifetime doesn't always satisfy the demand for practical use.