RATIONALE: Although the structure of atomic switch Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) thin films is well established, the composition of the clusters formed in the plasma plume during pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) is not known. Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LDI-TOF MS) is an effective method for the generation and study of clusters formed by laser ablation of various solids and thus for determining their structural fragments. METHODS: LDI of bulk or PLD-deposited GST thin layers and of various precursors (Ge, Sb, Te, and Ge-Te or Sb-Te mixtures) using a nitrogen laser (337 nm) was applied while the mass spectra were recorded in positive and negative ion modes using a TOF mass spectrometer equipped with a reflectron while the stoichiometry of the clusters formed was determined via isotopic envelope analysis. RESULTS: The singly negatively or positively charged clusters identified from the LDI of GST were Ge, Ge2, GeTe, Ge2Te, Ten (n = 1-3), GeTe2, Ge2Te2, GeTe3, SbTe2, Sb2Te, GeSbTe2, Sb3Te and the low abundance ternary GeSbTe3, while the LDI of germanium telluride yielded Gem Ten (+) clusters (m = 1-3, n = 1-3). Several minor Ge-H clusters were also observed for pure germanium and for germanium telluride. Sbn clusters (n = 1-3) and the formation of binary TeSb, TeSb2 and TeSb3 clusters were detected when Sb2Te3 was examined. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report that elucidates the stoichiometry of Gem Sbn Tep clusters formed in plasma when bulk or nano-layers of GST material are ablated. The clusters were found to be fragments of the original structure. The results might facilitate the development of PLD technology for this memory phase-change material.
