High tolerance of proton irradiation of Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change material

• The phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 was irradiated by 3 MeV proton.
• The electrical and mechanical property of Ge2Sb2Te5 film were evaluated.
• Monte Carlo Simulation was used to analyze the process of ions transport in the material.
• The results showed that GST has excellent proton irradiation tolerance.

A chalcogenide material Ge2Sb2Te5 was irradiated by proton and its radiation performance was investigated. The amorphous to crystalline transformation was studied by transmission electron microscopy observations and resistance measurements before and after irradiation. The results show that the crystallization behavior of the material has no obvious change after irradiation, proton irradiation did not induced transformation between crystalline and as-deposited amorphous state. Monte Carlo Simulation was used to analyze the process of ions transport in the phase change material. The irradiation results show that GST phase change material has excellent proton irradiation tolerance, which makes it attractive for space-based applications.