Insights into the Heterogeneous Nuclei of an Ultrafast‐Crystallizing Glassy Solid

Author:

Chen Bin12,Li Junhua3,Wang Xu4,Shi Mengchao3,Sun Tulai5,Xia Mengjiao6,Ding Keyuan12,Liu Jie3,Li Jixue4,Tian He4,Rao Feng12ORCID

Affiliation:

1. College of Materials Science and Engineering Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518060 China

2. Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Information Display and Storage Materials Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China

3. College of Electrical and information Engineering Hunan University Changsha 410082 China

4. Center of Electron Microscopy State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials School of Materials Science and Engineering Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310027 China

5. Center of Electron Microscopy State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Chemistry Synthesis Technology Zhejiang University of Technology Hangzhou 310014 China

6. School of Physics and Microelectronics Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou 450001 China

Abstract

AbstractCrystallization determines the programming speed of phase‐change memory devices; while, the nucleation phenomenon of many phase‐change materials (PCMs) is not entirely understood, especially concerning the atomic structures and dynamic behaviors of the subcritical nuclei. This is undoubtedly an insurmountable challenge for scandium antimony telluride (ScxSb2Te3) PCM as its subnanosecond‐crystallization nature impedes the real‐time observation of the transient nucleation process. To solve the puzzle, atomic probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy are employed to circumvent the technical difficulties; for the first time, the atomistic information of the heterogeneous nuclei in ScxSb2Te3 is unveiled, such as enriched Sc ≈ 25 at% in core composition, ≈1.0 nm in geometric size, and ≈1023–1024 m−3 in spatial density. The unique nanoscale chemical inhomogeneity ensures the unusual stabilities and dynamics of the early‐stage nuclei, reinforcing them to survive the melt‐quenching action and greatly suppressing the nucleating randomness, thereby facilitating simultaneous and prompt crystal growth throughout the amorphous phase to achieve ultrafast crystallization. The present study offers a new insight into the nonclassical pathways, which will improve understanding and promote better regulation of the nucleation phenomenon in functional materials.

Funder

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Science and Technology Foundation of Shenzhen City

Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province

Publisher

Wiley

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