Tuning resistive switching behavior and conduction mechanism in Se₈₀Te₂₀ alloy with Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu additives

Abstract The present investigations comprehensively analyze the current-voltage characteristics and conduction mechanism in Se80Te20 (ST) and Se78Te20TM2 (STTM; where TM denotes transition metals Cu. Fe, Co, and Ni) glasses. This study focuses on a multi-component system and investigates the voltage-current characteristics of nearly identical disc-shaped specimens at various temperatures below their glass transition points. By analyzing the experimental data, we discovered resistive switching phenomena in the parent glass and its ternary variants containing transition metals Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu. Remarkably, the resistive switching behavior of these samples has been observed to be related to the Meyer-Neldel rule. Additionally, our findings reveal space charge-limited conduction in binary and ternary alloys. We identified linear relationships between ln I and V1/2 across both low and high voltage ranges, which we explained using the Poole-Frenkel mechanism. While the I-V characteristics showed ohmic behavior at lower voltages, a transition to non-ohmic behavior at higher voltages was attributed to voltage-induced temperature effects.