Sn-Te-Se amorphous-crystalline phase change recording film is analyzed on write/erase cyclability, erasing speed, and activation energy of crystallization. The Sn-Te-Se thin film, sandwiched by two SiO2 thin film layers, is deposited on an organic-thick-film coated glass substrate. Then, another organic thick film is coated onto these layers. For these samples, the maximum erasure(crystallization) speed by laser beam irradiation and other write/erase characteristics are measured. Information can be written and erased more than 106 times. The crystallization activation energy is also measured and found to be about 2.3eV. The life of the amorphous state is estimated to be about 10 years at 40°C. These experimental results show that Sn-Te-Se thin film is promising as a reversible phase change recording film.

Date Published: 12 April 1985
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 0529, Optical Mass Data Storage I, (12 April 1985); doi: 10.1117/12.946430

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0529:
Optical Mass Data Storage I
Robert A. Sprague, Editor(s)