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Tunable electrode-dependent switching characteristics of Se-Te-In chalcogenide thin films

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Abstract

Chalcogenide glasses have garnered significant interest as potential materials for the creation of high-density, three-dimensional stackable cross-point array structures, particularly for memory devices. Chalcogenide glasses have emerged as promising candidates for high-density, three-dimensional stackable cross-point array structures. In this study, we delve into the intricate electrical switching behaviour of Se86−xTe14Inx (x = 0, 2, 4, 6) chalcogenide glasses in the form of thin films, employing Aluminium (Al) as the top and bottom electrodes. Exhibiting the remarkable phase-changing characteristics of the material, the films showed memory-type switching behaviour. Remarkably, with an incremental change in Indium concentration from 0 to 6%, a linear reduction in the threshold voltage (Vth) from 12.75 to 4.80 V was observed, underscoring the tunability of switching properties with respect to compositional variations. When the Al top electrode was substituted with Silver (Ag) the thin films’ electrical behaviour changed and this alteration instigated a shift in the switching mechanism. The films changed their characteristics from memory to threshold-switching behaviour, presenting a unique phenomenon in the realm of Se-Te-based chalcogenide glassy alloys. The presence of an active electrode (Ag) at the top facilitated the formation of temporary Ag filaments, making the device a programmable metallization cell (PMC) with remarkable threshold-switching capabilities with higher selectivity (∼ 5 × 103) and endurance of 104 cycles. The observed tunable attributes, contingent on the precise adjustment of Indium concentration and film thickness, underscore the immense potential of these films as highly efficient and adaptable unidirectional selectors and memory devices.

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The raw data sets obtained during experiments of the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The graphical representations of the data are already given in the manuscript.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Central Research Facility (CRF), NITK, Surathkal for providing facilities for FESEM and GIXRD characterizations respectively. Authors would also like to thank Dr. John D Rodney and Mrs. Anupriya James for their help in characterizations and analysis.

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  1. Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Karnataka, 575025, India

    Sindhur Joshi & N. K. Udayashankar

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Sindhur Joshi: conceptualisation, methodology, visualisation, investigation, writing—original draft. N. K. Udayashankar: conceptualization, writing—review, editing, supervision.

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Correspondence to Sindhur Joshi or N. K. Udayashankar.

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Joshi, S., Udayashankar, N.K. Tunable electrode-dependent switching characteristics of Se-Te-In chalcogenide thin films. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 828 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12585-6

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