Nature of the Local Environment of Atoms in Ge3Sb2Te6, Ge2Sb2Te5, GeSb2Te4, and GeSb4Te7 Amorphous and Crystalline Films

Abstract

The valence state and local environment of atoms in Ge3Sb2Te6, Ge2Sb2Te5, GeSb2Te4, and GeSb4Te7 amorphous and crystalline films are determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS) on isotopes 119Sn, 121Sb, and 125Te. In crystalline films, divalent germanium is located in octahedral positions in a rhombohedrally distorted NaCl-type of lattice, whereas in amorphous films, tetravalent germanium atoms form a tetrahedral system of chemical bonds. In all films, the nearest environment of germanium contains predominantly tellurium atoms. Trivalent antimony atoms in crystalline and amorphous films occupy two types of octahedral positions differing in the degree of distortion, and in the nearest environment of antimony there are tellurium atoms. Finally, in all films, the local structures of tellurium atoms correspond to tellurium structural units in the GeTe and Sb2Te3 compounds.