Endurance of chalcogenide optical phase change materials: a review

Chalcogenide phase change materials (PCMs) are truly remarkable compounds whose unique switchable optical and electronic properties have fueled an explosion of emerging applications in electronics and photonics. Key to any application is the ability of PCMs to reliably switch between crystalline and amorphous states over a large number of cycles. While this issue has been extensively studied in the case of electronic memories, current PCM-based photonic devices show limited endurance. This review discusses the various parameters that impact crystallization and re-amorphization of several PCMs, their failure mechanisms, and formulate design rules for enhancing cycling durability of these compounds.

Automated summary

Chalcogenide phase change materials (PCMs) are compounds with switchable optical and electronic properties, which have driven the emergence of new applications in electronics and photonics. However, current PCM-based photonic devices have limited endurance. This review discusses the parameters that affect crystallization and re-amorphization of PCMs, as well as the design rules for enhancing cycling durability of these compounds.