Electrical switching and thermal behavior of ternary Si15Te85-xBix (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) chalcogenide glasses

Abstract

Bulk semiconducting Si<inf>15</inf>Te<inf>85-x</inf>Bi<inf>x</inf>(0 ≤ x ≤ 2) chalcogenide glasses have been prepared using a well established melt-quenching technique. Electrical switching studies have been undertaken on Si<inf>15</inf>Te<inf>85-x</inf>Bi<inf>x</inf>(0 ≤ x ≤ 2) chalcogenide glasses. The results indicate that these samples exhibit memory type electrical switching behavior. It has been observed that the switching voltage <inf>VT</inf> of the glasses decreases with the addition of Bi. In addition, thermal stability and OFF state resistivity of the samples have been found to decrease with the increase in Bi concentration and are related to the observed decrease in switching voltages. The switching voltage (<inf>VT</inf>) has been found to increase with the thickness of the sample and decrease with increase in temperature confirming the thermal origin of the memory switching process. Further, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies reveal the formation of a crystalline channel indicating the conducting path between the two electrodes in the switched region. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.