Structural investigations of ternary chalcogenide glasses

Glasses from (GeSe5)(1-x)Ga-x and (GeSe4)(1-x)Ga-x (x = 5, 10, 15, 20 at.%) systems have been investigated. X-ray diffraction and IR scattering measurements have been carried out in order to elucidate the structure of the glasses. From the x-ray diffraction data radial distribution functions (RDF) have been obtained. The results show that the basic units are tetrahedral and the atoms are distributed according to the 'chemically ordering' model. The IR spectra reveal that the introduction of gallium to GexSe1-x glass thus causes only a small shift of maxima and some changes in the broadness of the vibration bands. The presence of a shoulder at 216 cm(-1) and the increase of this shoulder is associated with the increase in gallium content. The effect of gallium incorporation in the binary GexSe1-x glassy system has been discussed in terms of the chemically ordered model and experimental data of both investigations. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.