Anomalous x-ray scattering studies of functional disordered materials

We have developed anomalous x-ray scattering (AXS) spectrometers, that employ intrinsic Ge detectors and crystal analyzers, at SPring-8. The use of LiF analyzer crystal provides us with an energy resolution of ∼ 12 eV. Furthermore, it has been established that the use of AXS technique is essential to reveal the relationship between the atomic structure and its function of a fast phase-change material, Ge2Sb2Te5. We were able to address the issue of why the amorphous phase of fast phase change materials is stable at room temperature for a long time despite the fact that it can rapidly transform to the crystalline phase by using a combination of AXS and large scale density functional theory-based molecular dynamics simulations.