Effect of pressure on the electrical resistivity of bulk Ge20Te80 glass

An irreversible pressure induced semiconductor-to-metal transition in bulk Ge₂₀Te₈₀ glass is observed at about 5 GPa pressure. The high pressure phase has a face centered cubic structure with a lattice constant 6.42 A° as deduced by X-ray diffraction studies on the pressure quenched samples. The temperature and pressure dependence of the electrical resistivity confirms the observed transition to be a semiconductor-to-metal transition. The temperature dependence of thermo electric power is also reported.