Existence of electronic excitation enhanced crystallization in gesb amorphous thin films upon ultrashort laser pulse irradiation

Abstract

The energy density crystallization threshold of amorphous GeSb films has been studied for the first time as a function of the laser pulse duration in the range from 170 fs to 8 ns. The results obtained provide evidence of the existence of enhanced crystallization upon irradiation with pulses shorter than 800 fs, which is most likely related to electronic excitation effects. © 1996 The American Physical Society.