A simple and compact arrangement for flash evaporation is described. It uses a cell phone vibrator for powder dispensing that can be incorporated into a vacuum deposition chamber without any major alterations. The performance of the flash evaporation system is checked by making thin films of the optical memory chalcogenide glass Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). Energy dispersive x-ray analysis shows that the flash evaporation preserves the stoichiometry in thin films. (c) 2010 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3443567]