Properties of chalcogenide glass-silicon heterojunctions

The properties of heterojunctions between n- and p-type crystalline silicon and certain threshold-type amorphous chalcogenide films have been investigated. Low-field and high-field I-V characteristics, switching properties, and photoelectric behavior have all been studied. Devices fabricated with silicon substrates of opposite types are distinctly different; device characteristics at low voltages were found to be influenced appreciably by interface states. Short-circuit photocurrent data imply band models which explain the I-V properties in both the absence and the presence of light.