Work function contrast and energy band modulation between amorphous and crystalline Ge2Sb2Te5 films

Abstract

The work function (WF) is of crucial importance to dominate the carrier transport properties of the Ge-Sb-Te based interfaces. In this letter, the electrostatic force microscopy is proposed to extract the WF of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) films with high spatial and energy resolution. The measured WF of as-deposited amorphous GST is 5.34 eV and decreases drastically after the amorphous GST is crystallized by annealing or laser illumination. A 512 × 512 array 2D-WF map is designed to study the WF spatial distribution and shows a good consistency. The WF contrast between a-GST and c-GST is ascribed to band modulation, especially the modification of electron affinity including the contribution of charges or dipoles. Then, the band alignments of GST/n-Si heterostructures are obtained based on the Anderson's rule. Due to the band modulation, the I-V characteristics of a-GST/Si heterojunction and c-GST/Si heterojunction are very different from each other. The quantitative relationship is calculated by solving the Poisson's equation, which agrees well with the I-V measurements. Our findings not only suggest a way to further understand the electrical transport properties of Ge-Sb-Te based interfaces but also provide a non-touch method to distinguish crystalline area from amorphous matrix with high spatial resolution.