Growth rate determination through automated TEM image analysis: crystallization studies of doped SbTe phase-change thin films.

A computer-controlled procedure is outlined here that first determines the position of the amorphous-crystalline interface in an image. Subsequently, from a time series of these images, the velocity of the crystal growth front is quantified. The procedure presented here can be useful for a wide range of applications, and we apply the new approach to determine growth rates in a so-called fast-growth-type phase-change material.