Evidence of SnSb2Te4 rocksalt metastable phase of thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

SnSb2Te4, an intermetallic compounds in the pseudobinary SnTe-Sb2Te3, looks as a promising candidate for phase-change material in non-volatile memories applications. Thin films having thickness from 50 to 150 nm were grown by pulsed laser deposition using SnSb2Te4 as structure of 21 R-type structure (R-3m) consisting of rocksalt-type blocks separated by van der target. While in thermal equilibrium this phase crystallizes into a complex cubic close-packed Waals gaps [1], the thin films obtained had a simple NaCl-structure (Fm-3m) (metastable phase) as it was deduced from conventional XRD measurements in grazing incidence of the investigated films.