Structural and Electrical Properties of Annealed GeSbTe Films Grown on Flexible Polyimide.

The morphological, structural, and electrical properties of as-grown and annealed GeSbTe (GST) layers, deposited by RF-sputtering on flexible polyimide, were studied by means of optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and electrical characterization. The X-ray diffraction annealing experiments showed the structural transformation of GST layers from the as-grown amorphous state into their crystalline cubic and trigonal phases. The onset of crystallization of the GST films was inferred at about 140 °C.