Can the transformation time in phase change optical recording be improved by using femtosecond laser pulses?

Nonstoichiometric, Sb-rich, amorphous thin films, such as Sb _xGe _1-x with x>0.85 have been demonstrated to be promising candidates for the development of ultrashort laser pulse driven rewritable phase change optical disks. In this work we have investigated the joint influence of the film thickness, wavelength and pulse duration on the transformation time between the crystalline and the amorphous phases of GeSb films under picosecond and femtosecond laser pulses aiming to find routes for further improvements of the transformation time.