Germanium-antimony-telluride or, particularly, Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) thin films were deposited by hot wire (HW) chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Tetraallylgermanium, triisopropylantimony, and diisopropyltelluride were used as precursors for germanium, antimony, and tellurium, respectively. The influence of deposition parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and hydrogen content, was investigated. It was found that higher temperature, higher pressure, and lower hydrogen flow yielded higher growth rates of the films. An admixture of hydrogen reduced the Te concentration in the GST thin films and enhanced the content of Ge and Sb. The chemical composition could also be altered by other deposition parameters but these dependencies were not as well pronounced as in the hydrogen case. Generally, a higher Ge concentration was related to a smaller amount of Te. The films deposited at a higher pressure showed a significantly higher roughness. In addition, the switching from a low to high resistivity state was tested. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3543716] All rights reserved.