SWITCHING EFFECTS IN SE90-XSBXBI10 THIN-FILMS

Se-90-x Sb-x Bi-10 chalcogenide glasses with a Sb content varying in t he range 35-45 atomic percentage were prepared by quenching from the m elt. The amorphous nature of thin film form prepared by thermal evapor ation technique was established by X-ray diffraction. Switching effect s were observed in the deposited thin films of the system under test w ith the threshold voltage V-th increasing noticeably with the film thi ckness and decreasing exponentially with temperature in the thickness range 40-1400 nm and temperature region 300-350 K. The experimental re sults for the given conditions support an electrothermal model of swit ching, i.e. Joule heating within an electrically conducting channel.