A plasma sputtering method for metal chalcogenides, such as germanium antimony telluride (GST), useful in forming phase-change memories. The substrate is held at a selected temperature at which the material deposits in either an amorphous or crystalline form. GST has a low-temperature amorphous range and a high-temperature crystalline range separated by a transition band of 105-120° C. Bipolar pulsed sputtering with less than 50% positive pulses of less than 10:s pulse width cleans the target while maintain the sputtering plasma. The temperature of chamber shields is maintained at a temperature favoring crystalline deposition or they may be coated with arc-spray aluminum or with crystallographically aligned copper or aluminum.