Conduction and Electrical Switching in Amorphous Chalcogenide Semiconductor Films

Studies performed on the conduction and switching phenomena in films of certain amorphous chalcogenide semiconductors indicate that the electrical switching may be associated with a field-influenced dielectric phase transition. The normalized conduction found at voltages below switching displays an Ohmic and an exponential region, both associated with the same conduction process. This conduction is independent of frequency from dc to 100 kHz.