Reversible Switching of Phase State of Ge2Sb2Te5 Material under Optical Pumping

Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST) material has good potential for integrated optical systems. However, a clear theory describing mechanisms of GST phase state optical switching is still lacking. In this paper, we report investigation of GST ability for reversibly phase state switching under laser pumping. For reversible amophization and crystallization of local regions of the 24 nm GST film with 350 nm diameter we selected nondestructive modes of multiple pulsed laser pumping. Phase states of local regions in the GST film were defined by combination of optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy methods.