SWITCHING IN AMORPHOUS-SILICON DEVICES

The phenomena of nonvolatile switching in amorphous-hydrogenated-silic on thin-film devices are explained by a theory based on the presence o f charged inclusions in the film, having originated from the initial f orming treatments. The inclusion almost penetrate the film, and are ab le to move under applied fields of sufficient magnitude, and in a dire ction determined by the applied polarity. The differences between anal og and digital switching are ascribed to differences in the homogeneit y of the inclusions, being affected by the nature of the top contact.