First-principles calculations on effects of Al and Ga dopants on atomic and electronic structures of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5

Effects of post-transition metal dopants M (M = Al, Zn, and Ga) on structural and electronic properties of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 (a-GST) are investigated through first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. The doped a-GST is generated through the melt-quench procedure using molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the three dopants behave similarly in a-GST, and they are mostly coordinated by Te atoms in tetrahedral geometry, which is similar to those in crystalline MxTey. This is in contrast with crystalline GST wherein the most stable position of dopant M is the octahedral vacancy site. The number of wrong bonds such as Ge-Ge, Ge-Sb, or Sb-Sb increases as dopant atoms predominantly bond with Te atoms. The number of 4-fold ring structures, especially ABAB-type, decreases significantly, explaining the enhanced thermal stability of doped a-GST in the experiment. The bandgap estimated from density of states and the optical gap obtained from Tauc plot increase upon doping, which is also in good agreement with the experiment. By successfully relating the experimental doping effects and changes in the atomic structure, we believe that the present work can serve as a key to offer better retention and lower power consumption in phase-change memory.