Texture formation of GeSbTe thin films prepared by multilayer deposition of modulating constituent elements

The preferred oriented texture Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) thin film was prepared on SiO2∕Si(001) and TiN(60nm)∕Si(001) substrates. With the modulated layers of each constituent materials, the stoichiometry of thin film was controlled. Through cross section transmission electron microscope analysis and the x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement at different temperatures, the evolutions of as-grown multilayer from amorphous to textured crystalline state were studied. Highly preferred orientation to ⟨00l⟩ direction of GST film was verified by XRD pole figure measurements to deduce the orientation distribution function. From these results, the authors could suggest the effective synthetic method to make the texture GST film with high crystalline quality.