Investigation of Indium doped Se-Te bulk chalcogenide glasses for electrical switching and phase changing applications

Recently, Metal-doped Se-Te chalcogenides have gained a lot of interest due to their unique capacity for electrical switching, which makes them desirable for electronic applications. This study examines the electrical switching characteristics of bulk Se86−xTe14Inx (0 ≤ x ≤ 6) amorphous alloys produced by the conventional melt-mix-quench process. The samples with an Indium atomic percentage between 2 to 6 exhibited a remarkable transition from a highly resistive to a low resistive state when subjected to an electric field with a current of 1 mA, displaying quick and reversible switching behaviour. The threshold voltage (Vth) significantly dropped from 410.6 V to 49.2 V with an increase in Indium concentration. Additionally, above the specific current threshold, these bulk glasses demonstrated memory-type switching, demonstrating their potential for data storage applications. To comprehend the trend of glass forming ability, thermal stability range and Hruby’s glass stability parameters, with their compositional dependency, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was utilized. The sample Se80Te14In6 emerged to be the fastest phase-changing material, with a memory switching current threshold of Ith = 1.3 mA and a threshold voltage value of 49.2 V. To study the formation of crystallites in Se-Te-In alloy, X-ray diffraction patterns of pristine glass and the annealed sample were examined. Furthermore, temperature-dependent conductivity investigations showed a sharp rise in conductivity once the process crystallization begins (Tx), and also the threshold voltage (Vth) of the samples decreased linearly with rising temperature. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the electrical switching behaviour and thermal properties of Se-Te-In chalcogenide glasses, enhancing their suitability in electronic devices. [Display omitted] •Synthesis of Se86−xTe14Inx (0 ≤ x ≤ 6) chalcogenide glassy alloys using the melt-quench technique.•Investigation of the effect of Indium concentration on switching voltage (Vth) and crystallization.•Analysis of the impact of threshold current (Ith) on the memory switching effect.•DSC studies reveal that the 6% In-doped sample exhibits lower thermal stability and a higher tendency for phase change.•Analysis of crystalline peaks in annealed samples reveals a shift from amorphous to multiphasic crystalline material.