Vitrification of and optical and photoelectrical properties of AgAsS2, AgSbS2, and AgBiS2

A study is made concerning the photoconductivity, the edge absorption, and the far-infrared spectra of AgAsS₂, AgSbS₂, AgBiS₂ crystals and glasses. The oscillation spectrum of monoclinic smithite (AgAsS₂) and miargyrite (AgSbS₂) is explained here by the presence of As-S, Sb-S, and Ag-S bonds. The rank of symmetry and the degree of bond metallization, which both increase in the order AgAsS₂ AgSbS₂ AgBiS₂, cause the structure of the far-infrared spectra to become simpler and the tendency vitrification to become weaker in the same order.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 39–45, March, 1976.