Monte Carlo simulation of charge transport in amorphous chalcogenides

The most peculiar feature exhibited by the I(V) characteristics of amorphous-chalcogenide materials is undoubtedly its S-shaped behavior. This type of characteristics is very important for the technological application, e.g., in the field of nanoscale solid-state memories. In this paper we give a microscopic particle description of the charge transport across a layer of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 sandwiched between two planar metallic contacts. A transport scheme based on the generalization of the variable-range hopping has been implemented in a current-driven Monte Carlo code. This approach allows one to investigate the aspects of the microscopic picture responsible for the electrical properties of the device. The results are compared with experimental data.