Electrical switching behavior of bulk As-Te-Si glasses: Composition dependence and topological effects

The current-voltage characteristics and electrical switching behavior of bulk $As_{30}Te_{70-x}Si_x (2 \leq x \leq 22)$ and $As_{40}Te_{60-x}Si_x (2 \leq x \leq 22)$ glasses were investigated over a wide range of compositions. The glasses studied were found to exhibit a current-controlled negative-resistance behavior and memory switching. Further, the switching voltage $(V_t)$ is found to increase linearly with sample thickness in the range of 0.15-0.45 mm, and it decreases linearly with temperature (300-353 K). The variation of the switching voltage $V_t$ of As-Te-Si glasses exhibits a sharp slope change at an average coordination number $\langle r \rangle = 2.46$ (for both tie lines), which is assocd. with the rigidity percolation in the system. Further, a minimum is seen in the switching voltage $V_t$ at an average coordination numebr $\langle r \rangle = 2.66$, which is likely to be the chemical threshold of the system