Electrical switching in As–Te–Ag system–composition and temperature dependence

The current–voltage characteristics related to switching phenomena in silver doped arsenic telluride glasses, As20Te80−xAgx and As40Te60−xAgx, have been investigated over a wide composition range (4⩽x⩽14). The samples are found to show threshold switching behavior with the number of switching cycles withstood by the samples depending on the ON state current. The switching voltages are found to decrease with increase in silver content and a sharp minimum is seen at the composition x=12 for the As20Te80−xAgx glasses and x=11 for the As40Te60−xAgx glasses. An effort has been made to understand the observed composition dependence on the basis of increase in the conductance of the samples with silver addition and local structural effects.