Unraveling the crystallization kinetics of the Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ phase change compound with a machine-learned interatomic potential

The phase change compound Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST225) is exploited in advanced non-volatile electronic memories and in neuromorphic devices which both rely on a fast and reversible transition between the crystalline and amorphous phases induced by Joule heating. The crystallization kinetics of GST225 is a key functional feature for the operation of these devices. We report here on the development of a machine-learned interatomic potential for GST225 that allowed us to perform large scale molecular dynamics simulations (over 10000 atoms for over 100 ns) to uncover the details of the crystallization kinetics in a wide range of temperatures of interest for the programming of the devices. The potential is obtained by fitting with a deep neural network (NN) scheme a large quantum-mechanical database generated within Density Functional Theory. The availability of a highly efficient and yet highly accurate NN potential opens the possibility to simulate phase change materials at the length and time scales of the real devices.

Identifier
Source https://archive.materialscloud.org/record/2024.37
Metadata Access https://archive.materialscloud.org/xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&identifier=oai:materialscloud.org:2099
Provenance
Creator Abou El Kheir, Omar; Bonati, Luigi; Parrinello, Michele; Bernasconi, Marco
Publisher Materials Cloud
Publication Year 2024
Rights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess; Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
OpenAccess true
Contact archive(at)materialscloud.org
Representation
Language English
Resource Type Dataset
Discipline Materials Science and Engineering