How can we understand the mechanism of the phase transition on an atomic scale?

In collaboration with partners from Sapienza University of Rome, Tsukuba University and Ehime University, the research group of Shuai Wei has published a new article in Nature Communications. 

Postdoc Tomoki Fujita from Shuai Wei’s group has spearheaded an effort of identifying the atomic arrangement of the amorphous state of phase-change materials under pressure. By combining high-pressure set-ups, synchrotron X-rays at SPring-8 in Japan, and numerical simulations, the international team has found that the atomic-level structure is rather ordered at locals even in an amorphous material. A subtle distortion of a tiny fraction of atomic distance may drastically change density, electronic and optical properties. This study shows how atomic-level engineering can be used to gain desirable material properties for applications in advanced data storage devices.