Polynary silicon arsenic chalcogenide glasses with high softening temperatures

The introduction of Ag in SiAsTe glasses permits the incorporation of Se, otherwise volatile and/or degradable as a constituent in Si-containing chalcogenide glasses. SiAsAgTeSe glasses exhibit much higher softening ranges and glass transition temperatures than encountered in known chalgogenide systems. A glass Si₃₅As₁₅Ag₁₀Te₂₀Se₂₀ had the viscosity log ν = 13 at about 500°C, as compared to 370°C for the base glass Si₃₅As₂₅Te₄₀, the viscosity of log ν = 9.8 at about 560°C, as compared to 442°C for the base glass. Phase separation occurs in the system SiAsAgTeSe and becomes manifest in two glass transitions indicated by changes in the slopes of the expansion curves and breaks in the softening point-composition relations. The existence and behavior SiAsAgTeSe glasses suggests the possible development of higher T_g i.r. transparencies and higher T_g semiconductor glasses than described so far.     

Infrared studies of Se-based polynary chalcogenide glasses (II): YxZxSe100−2x (Y = Ge,As; Z = As,Te)

The infrared (IR) absorption spectra for Y_xZ_xSe_100?2x glasses (Y = Ge, As;Z = As, Te), x = 2.5 and 5.0 are measured in the wavenumber region 700-60 cm^?1 at room temperature. These IR spectra are explained by comparing with the IR spectra already reported for the binary glasses such as Ge–Se, As–Se and Se–Te. In Ge_xAs_xSe_100-2x glasses (x ? 5.0), the main spectral features as well explained by both the spectra of Ge_xSe_100?x and As_xSe_100?x glasses. Main structural units in these glasses are considered to be GeSe₄ tetrahedra and AsSe₃ pyramids, and Se₈ rings and Se_n chains which are the units in pure glassy Se. In Ge_xTe_xSe_100?2x glasses (x ? 5.0) and IR band which cannot be explained by either the spectra of Ge_xSe_100?x or Se_100?xTe_x glasses appears at 210 cm^?1. This band is considered to be due to Ge–Te bonds. The IR spectra of As_xTe_x Se_100?2x glasses (x ? 5.0) are well explained by both the spectra of As_xSe_100?x and Se_100?xTe_x glasses. It is concluded that As and Te atoms combine with Se atoms in the forms of AsE₃ pyramids and Se₅Te₃ mixed rings, respectively.     

Infrared absorption of some high-purity chalcogenide glasses

New compouning techniques were devised to prepare high-purity Ge₂₈Sb₁₂Se₆₀ (TI 1173)and Ge₃₃As₁₂Se₅₅ TI 20). The methods were based on the combination of the reactant purification and compounding steps. The goal of the program was to establish the absorption limit for the glasses and to lower the absorption at 10.6 μm. At the present purity level, the GeSbSe glass is found to have an absorption level of about 0.01 cm^?1 at 10.6 μm while the absorption level for the GeAsSe glass is 0.05 cm^?1. Underlying causes for the limits are discussed along with the possibilities for improvement.     

Electron spin resonance of Mn2+ IN As–Se and As–Te glasses

The electron spin resonance of Mn has been studied in As_xSe_100?x with 0 ? x ? 70 and As_xTe_100?x with 40 ? x ? 70. All samples, except those with x < 20 in As_xSe_100?x, exhibit six hyperfine lines centered at g = 4.3. A g = 2.0 line is observed in As–Se with largely scattered linewidth by samples, but not in As–Te unless oxygen contamination is included in the samples. The g = 4.3 line in As–Se is closely related to a formation of As₂Se₃-type layer structure and interpreted as being caused by Mn situated at the interlayer position and surrounded by four Se atoms in an arrangement of rhombic symmetry. In As–Te, a similar model by four Te atoms is valid in composition near As₂Te₃, but the surrounding Te is replaced by As as As content increases. The g = 2.0 line is concluded to come from phase-separated antiferromagnetic particles of Mn–O and MnSe. The linewidth is scattere by differences in the relative amounts of the two kinds of particles and in particle size.     

Thermoelectric power of AsSeTe glasses

The result of the measurement of the thermoelectric power of glasses in the As₂Se₃As₂Te₃ system are reported. The results indicate that towards the As₂Te₃ end of the composition, there is an anomalous increase in thermoelectric power, the origin of which is not clear. Polaron hopping seems to contribute to conductivity in tellurium rich glasses. Structural restrictions on polaron hopping, such as the availability of AsTeAsTe chains seems to be important in discussing transport behaviour.     

γ-ray irradiation induced multiple effects on Ge–As–Se chalcogenide glasses

In this work, multiple effects of γ-ray irradiation on properties of bulk Ge–As–Se chalcogenide glasses were studied. Increased density (ρ), thermal expansion coefficient (α) and decreased optical band gap (E_opt) were observed after irradiation, depending on glass compositions. Glasses with stoichiometric (GeSe₂)_100?x(As₂Se₃)_x compositions showed linear correlations between As₂Se₃ proportion x and irradiation sensitivity, which is expressed by Δρ/ρ, Δα/α and ΔE_opt/E_opt. Nonstoichiometric glasses (Ge₂Se₃)_100?x(As₂Se₃)_x exhibited irregular variations. The phenomena are discussed in terms of chemical bonds transition and structural evolution under γ-ray irradiation.     

A molecular model for the vibrational modes in chalcogenide glasses

We demonstrate the use of molecular models for calculating the optic mode frequencies in elemental and compound chalcogenide glasses. Our model gives good agreement with the optic mode frequencies reported for As₂Se₃, and for the polymeric fraction in liquid S and amorphous Se and Te. The model is not applicable to amorphous Si and Ge and III–V semiconductors.     

Bulk and impurity infrared absorption in 0.5 As2Se30.5 GeSe2 glass

A study of infrared absorption in the 250–4000 cm^?1 region has been carried out for 0.5 As₂Se₃0.5 GeSe₂ glasses quantitatively doped with oxide impurity. The frequencies of the intrinsic 2- and 3-phonon absorption bands at 490 and 690 cm^?1 correspond well to those predicted from combinations of the high frequency bands in the first order IR and Raman spectra of As₂Se₃ and GeSe₂ glasses.Glasses doped with As₂O₃ exhibit the same oxide impurity absorptionbands as those doped with GeO₂. Unlike As₂Se₃ glass, at impurity concentrations up to 1000 ppm As₂O₃, 0.5 As₂Se₃0.5 GeSe₂ glass exhibits only one major oxide impurity species, characterized by absorption bands at 780 and 1260 cm^?1 and due to oxygen bonded to network Ge. The observation of a much weaker network AsO vibration band at 670 cm^?1 confirms that oxygen bonds preferentially to Ge in this glass. The same minor oxide species appears to determine excess IR absorption at the CO₂ laser wavelength of 10.6 μm in both As₂Se₃ and 0.5 As₂Se₃ 0.5 GeSe₂ glasses. The frequencies and intensities of absorption bands due to hydrogen impurities are also quite comparable for these two materials.     

One- and two-phonon Raman spectra of amorphous AsSe systems

The polarization dependence of the one- and two-phonon Raman scatterings of the amorphous semiconductor As_xSe_1?x systems for 0 ? x ? 0.5 was measured. The analysis of the Raman data by the superposition of the vibrations of AsSe₃ pyramids and SeSe bonds suggests the existence of the intermediate range interaction in the As_xSe_1?x systems.Two phonon Raman spectra for 0.3 ? x are explained by the combination plus overtone of the first order Raman scatterings. For x ? 0.2, however, the overtone processes become predominant.The dependence of the Raman spectra on the As concentration suggests that the chemical orderings are predominant.     

Photo-acoustic spectroscopy of SixSe1−x glasses

The optical properties near the fundamental absorption edge has been studied for a series of Si_xSe_1−x glasses using photoacoustic spectroscopy. The compositional dependence of the bandgap E_O, derived from these measurements, is presented and contrasted with the GeSe and the SiS systems. This data is qualitatively explained with a model which accounts for differing numbers of homopolar and heteropolar and heteropolar bonds as the composition is varied. Additional support for this interpretation is found in the compositional behavior of the glass transitions of these alloys.     

Studies on the AsSbSe glass system

Results are reported of measurements of the glass transition temperature (T_g), conductivity and density (d) for glasses of the AsSbSe system, with compositions (As, Sb)₄₀Se₆₀ and As_xSb₁₅Se_85?x. The results are compared with glasses of similar compositions of the As_xSe_100?x about compositions in the Ge_xSb₁₅Se_85?x and As_xSe_100?x glasses, in the case of As_xSb₁₅Se_85?x glasses, the As-rich compositions exhibit higher values of T_g and d compared to the stoichiometric composition As₂₅Sb₁₅Se₆₀. These results are discussed in the light of a chemically ordered structural arrangement in these glasses.     

Study of As―Se―Te glasses by neutron-, X-ray diffraction and optical spectroscopic methods

The atomic structures of amorphous As₄₀Se_(60?x)Te_x (x = 10 and 15) and As₄₀Se₆₀ glasses have been investigated by neutron and high energy X-ray diffraction methods. The two datasets were modeled simultaneously by reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation technique. The RMC simulations revealed a glassy network built-up from As(Se, Te)₃ pyramids in which Te atoms substitute Se atoms. The As―Se correlation function shows a strong and sharp first peak at 2.4 Å and two broad and much less intense peaks at 3.7 and 5.6 Å, related to 1st, 2nd and 3rd neighbor distances of the As―Se bonds, respectively. They are an evidence for existence of short and medium ordering in the studied glasses. The similarity of Θ_Te―As―Te and Θ_Se―As―Se bond distributions suggests that Te atoms have a similar role in the structure formation as Se atoms. The FTIR spectra analysis revealed impurity bonds of Se―H, As―O, Se―O, and Te―O in the glasses which contributed to enhanced absorption in visible spectral range. From the ellipsometric data analysis the optical constants and the energetic parameters of the studied glasses were established. The compositional variation of these parameters is explained in terms of chemical bonds formation and change in the density of charged defects.     

Microheterogeneities in infrared optical selenide glasses

Flocculent inhomogeneities in vitreous Ge₂Se₃ were identified as being SiO₂. The origin of these particles was found in the walls of the vitreous silica tubes in which the glass was prepared. By etching or thermal treatment of the tubes prior to their use the concentration of the microheterogeneities in the selenide glass can be considerably reduced. This is also valid for the preparation of glasses of the system GeAsSe and GeSbSe.     

Local atomic arrangement and bonding studies in amorphous As2Se3As4Se4

The local atomic arrangement in amorphous As₂Se₃As₄Se₄ glasses was investigated with ESCA (electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis) and RDF (radial-distribution function) analysis. Measured changes of RDF peak areas and ESCA chemical shifts give direct evidence for the preservation of the local bonding schemes of both crystalline As₂Se₃ and As₄Se₄ in their amorphous states. The valence-band structures of amorphous As, Se, As₂Se₃ and As₄Se₄ are also measured with ESCA and discussed in conjunction with the bonding schemes of these glasses.     

Electrical transport in n-type semiconducting Ge120BixSe70−xTe10 glasses

Resistivity and thermoelectric power were measured as a function of temperature and composition for Ge₂₀Bi_xSe_70?xTe₁₀ glasses (x = 0–11). The results were compared with the case of of Ge₂₀Bi_xSe_80?x glasses to see on the electrical properties the influence of the substitution of Te for a part of Se. The glasses show n-type conduction for x ? 9, which was not affected by the substitution of Te. The resistivity was about three orders of magnitude lower for the glasses with x < 10, and remained almost the same for x ? 10, compared with the glasses not containing Te. From the composition dependence of the calculated concentration of covalent bonds in the glasses, it was proposed that the appearance of n-type conduction was closely related to the formation of a sufficient number of BiSe bonds and the disappearance of the bonds between two chalcogen atoms such as TeSe or SeSe bonds, and that the remarkably low resistivity in the present glasses with x < 10 was likely to be attributed to the formation of TeSe bonds.     

119Sn Mössbauer studies of glassy and crystalline compounds in the chalcogenide system SeSnAs

¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer measurements have been carried out on 18 chalcogenide glasses of different composition in the system SeSnAs. In all cases tin is four-coordinated and appears to be tetrahedrally surrounded by selenium. Two of the glasses (Se₆₀Sn₃As₃₇ and Se₄₇Sn₃As₅₀) were crystallized by heat treatment, and their Mössbauer spectra have been measured as a function of crystallization temperature and annealing time. As a result of the heat treatment, crystalline SnSe and SnSe₂ are precipitated. The amount of each compound is determined by the composition of the original glass and the remaining glassy or crystalline phase (As₂Se₃ and As₄Se₄). The degree of the crystallization depends on the temperature and the annealing time, but not the mass ratio of the tin selenides formed.     

Studies of amorphous GeSeTe alloys (I): Preparation and calorimetric observations

We have used differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to examine the thermally induced transformations of bulk and thin-film amorphous alloys within a large portion of the GeSeTe system. Most chalcogen-rich compositions showed a discontinuous increase of heat capacity when heated through the glass transition temperature T_G. The Ge-rich compositions, which could only be prepared as sputtered amorphous films, were invariably characterized by an irreversible exothermic crystallization process on heating, beginning at the crystallization temperature T_X. Values of T_g and T_X have been tabulated for all alloys investigated and the compositional dependence of T_g has been examined in the light of recent models for viscous flow in glass-forming chalcogenide systems. In addition, a region of liquid immiscibility has been observed in the vicinity of Ge₂₀Se₄₀Te₄₀ in which a GeSe₂-rich liquid phase segregates from a tellurium-rich liquid phase. The existence and limits of this immiscibility region have been rationalized on the basis of ionic perturbations to the covalent bonding. The segregation of a GeSe₂-rich liquid increases the concentration of GeSe bonds which are the strongest and most ionic of the six angle-bond types which can occur in this system.     

Thermally-induced structural and electrical effects in GeTe-based amorphous alloys

The thermal, structural electrical properties of bulk glasses based on GeTe compositions near the binary eutectic, Ge₁₅Te₈₅, are studied. Information regarding the non-crystalline state and the transformation from the non-crystalline to the crystalline state is reported. The particular alloys studied represent binary (Ge₁₇Te₈₃), ternary (Ge₁₅Te₈₀As₅) and quaternary (Ge₁₅Te₈₁Sb₂S₂) compositions. Structural information is obtained using X-ray diffraction techniques and density measurements. Thermal data are reported from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TGA) and mass spectrometry results. The electrical conductivity is measured as a function of temperature and, on the ‘as-prepared’ glasses, shows semi-conducting behavior with activation energies, E, of 0.43–0.48 eV. DSC, TGA and X-ray powder diffraction patterns indicate the samples crystallize as Te and GeTe in a two-step process, and melt at the binary eutectic temperature. The binary vaporizes as Te and GeTe in a two-step process. GeTeAs and GeTeSbS vaporize by essentially the same mechanism, with As evaporating (<300°C) before the Te, and Sb and S evaporating (420–480°C) after the Te but before GeTe. The results show that the properties of the bulk ‘as-prepared’ glasses are strikingly similar. Thermally-induced changes in the structural and electrical properties of bulk samples have been examined following a series of anneals (5 h, vacuum) at temperatures from 111°C to 190°C (glass transition temperature $\text{?125?133°}\text{C}$; crystallization temperature $\text{?206?228°}\text{C}$ as determined by DSC). DSC, TGA and mass spectrometry results have been correlated to electrical and structural changes. Results show that crystalline Te nucleates at the surface and forms a conductive surface layer. The conductivity of this surface layer is nearly temperature independent with E ≈ 10^?2 eV for all three alloys. Crystallization and the associated electrically conductive regions extend into the bulk material with further annealing. In these disordered alloys the additives As and Sb + S apparently do not act as electrical dopants in the sense of affecting the conductivity activation energy. The additives Sb + S however do retard crystallization of GeTe. The secondary crystallization product, GeTe, apparently changes the conduction mechanism to either a metallic or degenerate semiconductor type behavior.     

On possible binary molecular structure in the AsTeSe amorphous system

We present here experimental results on sixty different compositions of the ternary arsenic-tellurium-selenium system. The parameters considered here are: electrical conductivity and its thermal dependence, and transformation temperatures deduced from differential thermal analysis measurements. The synthesis of results leads to the vitrification area for glasses obtained by air quenching and gives rise to an analysis of the influence of the relative concentration of two elements with respect to the third considered as a parameter.DTA studies permit the separation of two different areas in the vitrification surface, corresponding to materials involving or not involving crystallization processes. We have investigated the possible existence of binary or ternary molecular structures in the vitrification region. The results presented here lead to the conclusion that no ternary molecular structure occurs in the AsTeSe system. Nevertheless it seems possible to conclude that one binary molecular structure can be built around As₂Se₃.     

Electrical properties of GeSbSe glasses

The dc and ac conductivities of glasses of the system GeSbSe (with the general formula Ge_xSb₁₀Se_90?x have been studied. The dc conductivity results indicate a maximum in the glass transition temperature and activation energy and a minimum in conductivity for the composition Ge₂₅Sb₁₀Se₆₅. These results have been explained on the basis of the prevalent structural arrangement wherein structural units of GeSe₂ and Sb₂Se₃ are dispersed among excess Se or Ge. Based on this picture, a model has been developed which accounts for the observed dependence of conductivity on composition at any temperature. The ac results have been utilized to find the hopping conductivity as a function of composition; the characteristics of lone pair amorphous semiconductors seem to account for the observed features.