Recording Characteristics and Crystallization Behavior of InGeSbSnTe Phase Change Thin Films

The In₁₀Ge_xSb_52-xSn₂₃Te₁₅ films (x = 2, 5, 7, and 9) were grown on silicon wafers, glass, and polycarbonate substrates at room temperature by dc magnetron sputtering. The thickness of In₁₀Ge_xSb_52-xSn₂₃Te₁₅ films is fixed at 20 nm. The ZnS-SiO₂ films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering were employed as the protective layers. We have studied the crystallization behavior and optical property of the InGeSbSnTe phase change films. In addition, the recording characteristics for blue laser recording media were also investigated. It is found that the crystallization temperature of In₁₀Ge_xSb_52-xSn₂₃Te₁₅ films was increased with increasing the Ge content. The optical contrasts of In₁₀Ge_xSb_52-xSn₂₃Te₁₅ films with x = 2-9 are all higher than 30% at a wavelength of 405 nm. After ten direct overwriting cycles, the optimum jitter value of InGeSbSnTe optical disk with 4× recording speed is lower than 7%, indicating that the films have high potential in blue laser rewritable media.