Optical switching and structural transformation of GeTe-Sb2Te3 pseudobinary alloys, Ge2Sb2Te5, Ge1Sb2Te4, and Ge1Sb4Te7, were studied for data storage application. As-deposited Ge2Sb2Te5, Ge1Sb2Te4, and Ge1Sb4Te7 thin films were amorphous and they crystallized to FCC and HCP upon heat treatment. Crystallization was accelerated by increasing the proportion of Sb2Te3 rather than GeTe in Ge-Sb-Te compounds; this was observed by reflectivity changes under nanosecond laser irradiation in static tester. The different crystallization kinetics according to composition might be affected by the structural incompatibility of GeTe under the 'Umbrella Flip' theory. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.