Work function contrast and energy band modulation between amorphous and crystalline Ge2Sb2Te5 films

The work function (WF) is of crucial importance to dominate the carrier transport properties of the Ge-Sb-Te based interfaces. In this letter, the electrostatic force microscopy is proposed to extract the WF of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) films with high spatial and energy resolution. The measured WF of as-deposited amorphous GST is 5.34 eV and decreases drastically after the amorphous GST is crystallized by annealing or laser illumination. A 512 x 512 array 2D-WF map is designed to study the WF spatial distribution and shows a good consistency. The WF contrast between a-GST and c-GST is ascribed to band modulation, especially the modification of electron affinity including the contribution of charges or dipoles. Then, the band alignments of GST/n-Si heterostructures are obtained based on the Anderson's rule. Due to the band modulation, the I-V characteristics of a-GST/Si heterojunction and c-GST/Si heterojunction are very different from each other. The quantitative relationship is calculated by solving the Poisson's equation, which agrees well with the I-V measurements. Our findings not only suggest a way to further understand the electrical transport properties of Ge-Sb-Te based interfaces but also provide a non-touch method to distinguish crystalline area from amorphous matrix with high spatial resolution. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.