Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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PV: Plenarvorträge

PV XXIV

PV XXIV: Plenary Talk

Thursday, March 23, 2017, 14:00–14:45, HSZ 02

Novel Phase Change Materials by Design: The Mystery of Resonance Bonding — •Matthias Wuttig — RWTH Aachen, I. Physikalisches Institut, Aachen, Germany — JARA-FIT Institute Green IT, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

Phase change media utilize a remarkable property portfolio including the ability to rapidly switch between the amorphous and crystalline state, which differ significantly in their properties. This material combination makes them very attractive for data storage applications in rewriteable optical and electronic data storage. This talk will discuss the unique material properties, which characterize phase change materials. In particular, it will be shown that only a rather small group of materials utilizes resonant bonding, a particular flavor of covalent bonding, which can explain many of the characteristic features of phase change materials. This insight is employed to predict systematic property trends and to explore the limits in stoichiometry for such memory applications. It will be demonstrated how this concept can be used to tailor the electrical and thermal conductivity of phase change materials. Yet, the discoveries presented here also force us to revisit the concept of resonant bonding and bring back a history of vivid scientific disputes about the nature of the chemical bond. Interesting enough, among the materials showing 'resonant bonding' are also well-known thermoelectrics as well as topological insulators.