View source for AgInSbTe

'''AgInSbTe''', or [[silver]]-[[indium]]-[[antimony]]-[[tellurium]], is a [[phase transition|phase change]] material from the group of [[chalcogenide glass]]es, used in rewritable [[optical disc]]s (such as [[CD-RW|rewritable CDs]]) and [[phase-change memory]] applications. It is a quaternary compound of [[silver]], [[indium]], [[antimony]], and [[tellurium]]. 

During writing, the material is first erased, initialized into its [[crystalline]] state, with long, lower-intensity laser irradiation. The material heats up to its crystallization temperature, but not up to its melting point, and crystallizes in a [[metastable]] [[face-centered cubic]] structure. Then the information is written on the crystalline phase, by heating spots of it with short (<10 ns), high-intensity laser pulses; the material locally melts and is quickly cooled, remaining in the [[amorphous]] phase. As the amorphous phase has lower reflectivity than the crystalline phase, the bitstream can be recorded as "dark" amorphous spots on the crystalline background. At low linear velocities, clusters of crystalline material can exist in the amorphous spots.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://jjap.ipap.jp/link?JJAP%2F44%2F3042|title=Laser-Induced Crystallization in AgInSbTe Phase-Change Optical Disk|date=10 May 2005|journal=Japanese Journal of Applied Physics|volume=44|issue=5A|pages=3042–3048|doi=10.1143/jjap.44.3042|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010242/http://jjap.ipap.jp/link?JJAP%2F44%2F3042|archive-date=27 September 2007|author1=Yem-Yeu Chang|author2=Lih-Hsin Chou|bibcode=2005JaJAP..44.3042C|s2cid=53375226 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
Another similar material is [[GeSbTe]], offering a lower linear density, but with higher overwrite cycles by 1-2 orders of magnitude. It is used in pit-and-groove recording formats, often in [[DVD-RW|rewritable DVDs]].

==References==
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{{Glass science}}

[[Category:Optical materials]]
[[Category:Non-oxide glasses]]
[[Category:Compact disc]]
[[Category:Chalcogenides]]
[[Category:Silver compounds]]
[[Category:Indium compounds]]
[[Category:Antimony compounds]]
[[Category:Tellurium compounds]]

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