A method for manufacturing an electrolyte material layer with a chalcogenide material incorporated or deposited therein for use in semiconductor memory devices, in particular resistively-switching memory devices or components. The method comprises the steps of producing a semiconductor substrate, depositing a binary chalcogenide layer onto the semiconductor substrate, depositing a sulphur-containing layer onto the binary chalcogenide layer, and creating a ternary chalcogenide layer comprising at least two different chalcogenide compounds ASe.sub.xS.sub.y. One component A of the chalcogenide compounds ASe.sub.xS.sub.y comprises materials of the IV elements main group, e.g., Ge, Si, or of a transition metal, preferably of the group consisting of Zn, Cd, Hg, or a combination thereof.