Characteristics of information recording on chalcogenide glassy semiconductors

Optical and electrical methods of information recording on chalcogenide gla ssy semiconductors are compared. It is shown that techniques based on a rev ersible glass-crystal phase transition are similar for the optical and elec trical cases and the main mechanism of phase transition is determined by th ermal heating. It is supposed that the known advantages of optical and elec trical information recording by short pulses are possibly related to the ex istence of a wide power range of pulses recording without damage, compared with the appreciably narrower range at longer pulse durations.