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Direct Visualization of the Earliest Stages of Crystallization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2021

Manish Kumar Singh Open the ORCID record for Manish Kumar Singh [Opens in a new window] ,
Chanchal Ghosh Open the ORCID record for Chanchal Ghosh [Opens in a new window] ,
Benjamin Miller Open the ORCID record for Benjamin Miller [Opens in a new window]  and
C. Barry Carter Open the ORCID record for C. Barry Carter [Opens in a new window]
Manish Kumar Singh*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT06269, USA
Chanchal Ghosh*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT06269, USA
Benjamin Miller*
Affiliation:
Gatan Inc., 5794 W. Las Positas Blvd, Pleasanton, CA94588, USA
C. Barry Carter
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT06269, USA Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM87185, USA
*
*Authors for correspondence: Manish Kumar Singh, E-mail: manish.singh@uconn.edu; Chanchal Ghosh, E-mail: chanchal.ghosh@uconn.edu and Benjamin Miller, E-mail: Benjamin.Miller@ametek.com
*Authors for correspondence: Manish Kumar Singh, E-mail: manish.singh@uconn.edu; Chanchal Ghosh, E-mail: chanchal.ghosh@uconn.edu and Benjamin Miller, E-mail: Benjamin.Miller@ametek.com
*Authors for correspondence: Manish Kumar Singh, E-mail: manish.singh@uconn.edu; Chanchal Ghosh, E-mail: chanchal.ghosh@uconn.edu and Benjamin Miller, E-mail: Benjamin.Miller@ametek.com
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Abstract

Investigating the earliest stages of crystallization requires the transmission electron microscope (TEM) and is particularly challenging for materials which can be affected by the electron beam. Typically, when imaging at magnifications high enough to observe local crystallinity, the electron beam's current density must be high to produce adequate image contrast. Yet, minimizing the electron dose is necessary to reduce the changes caused by the beam. With the advent of a sensitive, high-speed, direct-detection camera for a TEM that is corrected for spherical aberration, it is possible to probe the early stages of crystallization at the atomic scale. High-quality images with low contrast can now be analyzed using new computing methods. In the present paper, this approach is illustrated for crystallization in a Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST-225) phase-change material which can undergo particularly rapid phase transformations and is sensitive to the electron beam. A thin (20 nm) film of GST-225 has been directly imaged in the TEM and the low-dose images processed using Python scripting to extract details of the nanoscale nuclei. Quantitative analysis of the processed images in a video sequence also allows the growth of such nuclei to be followed.

Keywords

beam-sensitivecrystallizationGe2Sb2Te5low-dosePython scripting
Type
Materials Science Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , August 2021 , pp. 659 - 665
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America

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Footnotes

a

Manish Kumar Singh, Chanchal Ghosh, and Benjamin Miller equally contributed to the present study and can be regarded, therefore, as being main authors.

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