Simultaneous calorimetric and quick-EXAFS measurements to study the crystallization process in phase-change materials

A Calvet-type differential scanning calorimeter has been implemented on a synchrotron beamline devoted to X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As a case study, the complex crystallization process in amorphous Ge₁₅Sb₈₅ phase-change material is followed by simultaneous calorimetric and quick-EXAFS measurements. A first crystallization at 514(1) K is related to the crystallization of an Sb-rich phase accompanied by segregation of Ge atoms. Upon further heating, the as-formed amorphous Ge regions crystallize at 604(1) K. A quantitative analysis of the latent heat allows a Ge₁₁Sb₈₉ stoichiometry to be proposed for the first crystallized phase.