Ge2Sb2Te5
Germanium antimony telluride · GST, GST-225
Germanium antimony telluride is a phase-change material that can rapidly switch between amorphous and crystalline states when exposed to heat. This unique property allows it to store data reliably, making it a foundational component in modern non-volatile memory technologies.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Germanium antimony telluride, aggregated across 5 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Ge2Sb2Te5, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 0.25 | 0.0118 | -4.027 | 6.24 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0232 | -4.016 | 6.01 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | 0.02 | 0.0541 | -3.985 | 5.94 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 6.08 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.94 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 6.11 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cm (No. 8) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 6.32 |
Applications
Where Germanium antimony telluride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Germanium antimony telluride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Ge2Sb2Te5?
Germanium antimony telluride is a phase-change material that can rapidly switch between amorphous and crystalline states when exposed to heat. This unique property allows it to store data reliably, making it a foundational component in modern non-volatile memory technologies.
What is Ge2Sb2Te5 used for?
What is the band gap of Ge2Sb2Te5?
Is Ge2Sb2Te5 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Ge2Sb2Te5 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Ge2Sb2Te5?
What is the density of Ge2Sb2Te5?
How many polymorphs of Ge2Sb2Te5 are known?
What elements does Ge2Sb2Te5 contain?
Where does the data for Ge2Sb2Te5 come from?
Related Compounds
Other Phase-Change Memory Materials in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
- nomad — Data from NOMAD. Cite: Draxl & Scheffler, J. Phys. Mater. 2, 036001 (2019).
- aflow — Data from AFLOW. Cite: Curtarolo et al., Comp. Mater. Sci. 58, 218 (2012).
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