Crystalline-to-Crystalline Phase Transition between Germanium Selenide Polymorphs with High Resistance Contrast

TL;DR

This paper explores a phase transition between two crystalline forms of germanium selenide, revealing high electrical resistance contrast and mechanisms involving vacancy clustering, with implications for phase-change memory technology.

Contribution

It demonstrates a controlled transition between gamma- and alpha-GeSe phases, elucidates the atomic mechanism, and highlights the high resistance contrast for electronic applications.

Findings

High resistance contrast (~10^7) between gamma- and alpha-GeSe

Vacancy clustering drives the phase transition

Transition can be induced by annealing or laser heating

Abstract

Understanding phase transitions between crystalline phases of a material is crucial for both fundamental research and potential applications such as phase-change memory. In this study, we investigate the phase transition between GeSe crystalline polymorphs induced by either global annealing at moderate temperatures or localized laser-induced heating. The highly conductive gamma-GeSe transforms into semiconducting, single-crystalline alpha-GeSe while preserving a well-aligned crystal orientation. The distinct structural and electronic properties at the gamma-GeSe/alpha-GeSe interface were investigated by transmission electron microscopy analysis. We propose that the clustering of Ge vacancies in the gamma-GeSe phase at elevated temperatures is a key mechanism driving the transition, leading to the formation of alpha-GeSe through the segregation of a minor GeSe2 phase. Furthermore, we observe a high electrical resistance contrast of approximately 10^7 between gamma-GeSe and alpha-GeSe, underscoring the potential of GeSe as a model polymorphic system for electronic applications, including phase-change memory.