Crystallization kinetics of sputter-deposited amorphous AgInSbTe films

AgInSbTe films have recently attracted considerable interest as advanced materials for phase change recording. For this application the determination of crystallization kinetics is of crucial importance. In this work the temperature dependence of structural and electrical properties of sputtered AgInSbTe films has been determined. Temperature dependent measurements of the electrical resistance have been employed to study the kinetics of structural changes of these films. Upon annealing a major resistivity drop is observed at around $\text{160\hspace{0.05em}°}\mathrm{C}$ which can be attributed to a structural change as corroborated by x-ray diffraction. X-ray diffraction shows an amorphous phase for as-deposited films, while crystalline films with hexagonal structure $\text{(a=4283}$ Å, $\text{c=16\hspace{0.05em}995}$ Å) are obtained upon annealing above $\text{160\hspace{0.05em}°}\mathrm{C}.$ By applying Kissinger’s method, an activation energy of $\text{3.03±0.17}$ eV is obtained for the crystallization. X-ray reflection measurements reveal a density increase of $\text{5.2\%±0.2\%}$ and a thickness decrease of $\text{5.5\%±0.2\%}$ upon crystallization.