Electrical Properties of Chalcogenide Glasses of Te-Se-Ge and Te-Se-Sb Systems

Abstract

The properties of chalocogenide glass semiconductors of Te-Se-Ge and Te-Se-Sb systems are investigated by electrical conduction and differential thermal analysis. When germanium is introduced to a binary Te-Se system, it forms a strong three-dimensional network structure, and increases the glass transition temperature because it is rather easy to form covalent bonds with selenium and tellurium. Introducing antimony into the glass decreases the activation energy remarkably and increases the conductivity, and a further increase of the antimony content promotes the crystallization of the glass; whereas even by increasing the germanium content the crystallization scarcely occurs. The resistivity of the present glasses is expressed by the reiationship, ρ=ρ0exp (ΔE/kT). The pre-exponential factor, mainly determined by the mobility of the carriers, is nearly constant, and independent of the composition.