Despite its simple chemical constitution and unparalleled technological importance, the phase-change material germanium telluride (GeTe) still poses fundamental questions. In particular, the bonding mechanisms in amorphous GeTe have remained elusive to date, owing to the lack of suitable bond-analysis tools. Herein, we introduce a bonding indicator for amorphous structures, dubbed "bond-weighted distribution function" (BWDF), and we apply this method to amorphous GeTe. The results underline a peculiar role of homopolar Ge-Ge bonds, which locally stabilize tetrahedral fragments but not the global network. This atom-resolved (i. e., chemical) perspective has implications for the stability of amorphous "zero bits" and thus for the technologically relevant resistance-drift phenomenon.

Bonding Nature of Local Structural Motifs in Amorphous GeTe / Deringer, Vl; Zhang, W; Lumeij, M; Maintz, S; Wuttig, M; Mazzarello, R; Dronskowski, R. - In: ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE. INTERNATIONAL EDITION. - ISSN 1433-7851. - 53:40(2014), pp. 10817-10820. [10.1002/anie.201404223]

Bonding Nature of Local Structural Motifs in Amorphous GeTe

Mazzarello R;
2014

Abstract

Despite its simple chemical constitution and unparalleled technological importance, the phase-change material germanium telluride (GeTe) still poses fundamental questions. In particular, the bonding mechanisms in amorphous GeTe have remained elusive to date, owing to the lack of suitable bond-analysis tools. Herein, we introduce a bonding indicator for amorphous structures, dubbed "bond-weighted distribution function" (BWDF), and we apply this method to amorphous GeTe. The results underline a peculiar role of homopolar Ge-Ge bonds, which locally stabilize tetrahedral fragments but not the global network. This atom-resolved (i. e., chemical) perspective has implications for the stability of amorphous "zero bits" and thus for the technologically relevant resistance-drift phenomenon.
2014
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Bonding Nature of Local Structural Motifs in Amorphous GeTe / Deringer, Vl; Zhang, W; Lumeij, M; Maintz, S; Wuttig, M; Mazzarello, R; Dronskowski, R. - In: ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE. INTERNATIONAL EDITION. - ISSN 1433-7851. - 53:40(2014), pp. 10817-10820. [10.1002/anie.201404223]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1465714
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