Role of crystallized phases in sheet resistance of amorphous AgInSbTe chalcogenide film

AgInSbTe film was deposited on alkali-free glass using the radio-frequency sputtering method. Variations in sheet resistance with annealing temperatures were accompanied by the crystallization of amorphous films. Grazing-incidence X-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscopy observations indicated amorphous characteristics for as-deposited films and the crystallized δ-Sb and AgSbTe2 phases for annealed films. The transition temperature of sheet resistance is around 150-160 °C, which is lower than the crystallization temperature obtained by differential scanning calorimetry.