Theory of Electronic Switching Effect as a Cooperative Phenomenon

A modified form of Zener tunneling theory, in which we assume that the tunneling barrier is a decreasing collective function of electronic excitation, is shown to imply insulator-to-metal switching characteristics similar to those reported by Ovshinsky for glass film devices. In addition, our I-V characteristics display a region of negative resistance. Some criteria for the existence of polyconductivity are discussed, and are shown to be met by several classes of material.