Reversible phase-change optical data storage in InSbTe alloy films

Some characteristics of reversible phase-change optical data storage based on an amorphous-crystalline transformation in InSbTe alloys are given. The reversible phase change was observed in a wide region of composition. The laser amorphized spot of a ternary compound In3SbTe2 film could be crystallized using a diode laser pulse of less than 100 ns with an incident laser power of more than 10 mW. The crystallization temperature of the amorphized spot was 280 °C and the activation energy was about 1.8 eV which shows that long-term data retention at room temperature is possible. The repetition number of static write and erase using the pulse of 50 ns reached above 105. These data show that the ternary compound film has potential for reversible optical data storage media with high-speed erasing and long-term data retention.