Reversible structural transformations in amorphous semiconductors for memory and logic

ORDER-DISORDER transformations such as ordering of magnetic or ferroelectric domains are used in many information storage devices. The structural transformation of amorphous semiconductors from the amorphous to a more ordered state can be used for the same purpose if the structure transformation can be achieved fast and reversibly.1 Amorphous semiconductors have then the advantage over other information storage devices in that they can be cheaply produced and easily shaped in many different configurations. Furthermore, for semiconductors the difference between the physical properties of the amorphous and the crystalline state is particularly large. This enables one to retrieve and read the binary information, stored in the form of the structural state, with good signal to noise ratio despite extensive miniaturization.