Negative differential resistance in amorphous germanium

Results of a study of static current-voltage curves of amorphous germanium diodes with gap-type electrode construction are presented. It is shown that with increase in the interelectrode distance there occurs a transition from a switching regime with irreversible memory to a stable negative differential resistance regime. The diode current-voltage curves and data obtained by studying potential distribution over specimen length are explained with a model of space charge-limited currents.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 103–107, March, 1980.