Ultrafast laser-induced integrated property–structure modulation of Ge2Sb2Te5 for multifunction and multilevel rewritable optical recording

In this paper, we report an approach for tuning the surface morphology and phase of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) by using an ultrafast laser in a one-step process. Four surface micro/nanostructures with specific phase states were sequentially formed by changing the pulse energy: the modified ripple structure, the completely crystallized structure, the ablated nanodots, and the ablated ripple structure. A high correlation existed between the surface micro/nanostructures and their property. Through integrated property–structure modulation, multifunctional optical recording could be achieved by using modified ripples with specific crystallized phase states. The geometric grating morphology caused by the volume shrinkage effect during crystallization enabled modified ripples to exhibit a structural color based on the grating’s diffraction effect. Moreover, the considerable change in the reflectivity of the crystallized area enabled easy grayscale identification. On the basis of the spatially resolved phase-transition threshold effect, the integrated modulation of the geometric nanograting proportion and degree of crystallization was conducted in multilevel states. Notably, different from the fixed ablated surface structures, the printed modified surface structures could be erased and rewritten by controlling its phase state. This paper presents a promising method for producing dynamic tunable metasurfaces, conducting optical anticounterfeiting, and achieving information storage.