Ovonics: from Science to Products

Ovshinsky’s pioneering work and inventions in amorphous chalcogenide semiconductor materials in the 1960s invigorated an entire field of physics. The electronic switching he first demonstrated has led to many things, including what many refer to generically as phase change technology. These Ovonic chalcogenide materials are now used in several kinds of devices, primarily optical and electrical storage. The applications are growing, fueled in part by the successes gained in the first applications and also by market opportunities and demands. The remarkable properties of these materials and the underlying physics opened up these commercialization possibilities, but significant engineering including the materials themselves, but more so of the device structures, has provided for the consistent properties of the products. We present a review of the many device and engineering aspects which have led to so many applications.