Effects of copper content and heat treatment on the electrical properties of Ge Te Cu thin films

The mechanism of incorporation of copper in amorphous films of Ge15Te85yxCux 0FxF7 at.%.system and the effect of heat treatment are studied by measuring the dc conductivity in the temperature range 150–423 K.. The results indicates that there are two conduction mechanisms. For temperature above 330 K, conductivity exhibits activated behaviour, while in low temperature range Ts150–300 K.conductivity exhibits non-activated behaviour. In the high temperature region, resistance and the activation energy have been calculated. The decrease in the activation energy on addition of Cu has been interpreted according to the Kastner model. In the low temperature region Mott’s parameters have been evaluated and they are decreased with Cu content; the results in this region are interpreted following Mott’s model. q2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.