Optical properties of Ge:Sb:Te ternary alloys

The complex dielectric function of the three stoichiometric compositions GeSb₄Te₇, GeSb₂Te₄, and Ge ₂Sb₂Te₅ has been measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the energy range of 1.4-5.1 eV. Each composition was measured in the amorphous and in the two crystalline states, the metastable face-centered-cubic and the stable hexagonal phases. The complex dielectric function shows strong differences between the amorphous and the crystalline samples, these differences are responsible for the drastic contrast in the reflectivity spectra. The ellipsometric spectra are fitted with models which fulfilling the Kramers-Kronig relations. Thus the Forouhi-Bloomer model was used for the amorphous samples and the Lorentz harmonic oscillator model for the crystalline samples. The temperatures at which the phase transformations are achieved were determined by measuring the ac electrical resistance at 100 Hz while the samples were heated. The temperature derivative of the electrical conductivity shows two well defined peaks at critical temperatures where the phase transformation occurs as is revealed by the x-ray data.