Thermal coefficient of linear expansion of non-crystalline chalcogenides in the As-S-Se-Te-I system

The object of the paper is an investigation of the glasses of the (As₂S₃)_x(AsSe_0.5Te_0.5I)_100-x. type for 65≤;x≤;95, using methods of thermomechanical analysis. Values of the thermal coefficients of linear expansion in solid and visco-plastic phase were determined. it was shown that introducing arsenic-sulfide in glass-matrix AsChI, i.e. (AsSe_0.5Te_0.5I), leads to an increasing stability of these glasses. The characteristic temperatures of softening Tg and the temperature of the beginning of deformation t_w increase by increasing content of As₂S₃. The analytical forms of dependence of four significant physical values α_g, α_l, Tg, Tw, as a function of As₂S₃ content in the structure of glasses were fitted. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Refractive-index dispersion of glassy semiconductors in the pseudo-binary As2Se3–SbSI system

The bulk chalcogenide glasses in the pseudo-binary system (As₂Se₃)_100?x(SbSI)_x (with x = 20, 30, 50, 70 and 80 at.%) were prepared from high-purity elemental components by melt-quenching technique. It is a system with the variable ratio of classical amorphous compound As₂Se₃ and the molecule of antimony-sulphoiodide, SbSI, which in the monocrystal form is characterized as a ferroelectric. The refractive-index behaviour (magnitude and spectral dispersion) of investigated glasses was determined by the prism method and analyzed. To calculate and discuss the parameters of dispersion in the band gap region three different approaches were used (Cauchy, Sellmeier and Wemple–DiDomenico single-oscillator model). The comparison of the results shows good agreement between all applied models. It was found that the value of the refractive-index shows normal dispersion behaviour and increases with the increase of Sb (or SbSI) content in the investigated system, whereas the optical gap of these glasses E_g slightly decreases.     

Effect of Copper on Thermomechanical Characteristics of Amorphous AsSeyIz

The paper describes results of a study of glasses of the type Cu_x (AsSe_1.4 I_0.2 )_100–x for x =0, l, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 at% Cu, by the methods of thermomechanical analysis. Values of the thermal coefficients of linear expansion in solid and visco-plastic phase were determined and the dependence of this parameter on copper concentration was established. The experimental method used enabled the determination of characteristics glass transition temperature and the temperature of the beginning of deformation, and it was found that these parameters increase with increase in the copper content. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Thermal stability of the amorphous system Ge20As14(SexS1−x)52I14

Results of thermal investigations of the amorphous five-component chalcogenide system Ge₂₀As₁₄(Se_xS_1?x)₅₂I₁₄ are presented. Differential thermal analysis (DTA), derivative differential thermal analysis (DDTA), and dilatometry were employed to determine the temperatures of softening and partial crystallization of the samples. Thermal treatment of the samples at 1000°C and recording of the corresponding thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves allowed an elucidation of the full mechanism of their decomposition, which proceeds via seven characteristic phase transitions.     

Dependence of thermal stability and thermomechanical characteristics of non-crystalline chalcogenides in the Cu-As-Se system on copper content

We have developed a modified power-compensation DSC to evaluate the electrocaloric properties of ferroelectrics. With this apparatus, latent heat of electric-field-induced phase transition in Ba_0.73Sr_0.27TiO₃ (BST) ferroelectric ceramics has been investigated in detail. It varies with temperature and reaches its climax at 25°C, close to the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition temperature, when induced by the same electric field of 15 kV cm^-1. The theoretical saturated endothermicity induced by enough high electric field at 25°C is expected to 0.59 J g^-1, which is 84% of the total phase transition latent heat of BST. At last the origins of difference between exothermicity and endothermicity are discussed.     

Determination of thermal parameters of glasses from the system Bix(As2S3)100?x based on DSC curves

Thermal properties of glasses from the system Bi _x (As₂S₃)_100−x were studied by differential scanning calorimetry of a representative series of samples with x = 0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 at.% Bi by determining the characteristic temperatures (T _g, T _onset, T _c, T _m) and enthalpies (H _c, H _m) of the processes taking place in the samples during their thermal treatment. Analysis of DSC recordings for the samples at the same heating rate allowed characterization of the phase transition temperature T _g as a function of the content of doping atoms in accordance with the criteria of chemical bonds formation in amorphous materials. Samples with 4 and 6 at.% Bi were thermally treated at different heating rates with the aim of determining, among the others, the parameters of their thermal stability. The assessment was done based on three different criteria. A higher tendency toward crystallization was observed with the glasses having a higher Bi content. Also, a trend of T _g shifting toward higher values, observed with increase in the heating rate, is in concordance with the Lasocka equation.     

DC and AC conductivities of (As2S3)100−x(AsSe0.5Te0.5I)x chalcogenide glasses

The DC and AC conductivities of samples from the system (As₂S₃)_100−x(AsSe_0.5Te_0.5I)_x, where x=0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 50, 70 and 90 mol%, were measured as a function of temperature. Besides, the AC conductivities of the samples with x=10 and 30 were measured as a function of frequency from room temperature to the glass transition temperature. The DC conductivity dependence on temperature is of the Arrhenius type, whereas the value of the pre-exponential factor suggests the electrical conduction by localized states in the band tails and by localized states near the Fermi level. The small values of the conduction activation energy (10⁻²-10⁻¹ eV) obtained at higher frequencies suggest that the conduction in these materials is due to hopping of charge carriers between close defect states near the Fermi level.