Changes in the Short-Range Order of Chalcogenide Glasses upon Crystallization

The crystallization of the chalcogenide glass formers Se, As2Se3 , and As2S3 is studied by x-ray fluorescence analysis (measurements of the relative integrated intensity of the last x-ray emission line). The results demonstrate that the integral parameter R describing the short-range order is larger in the glasses compared to the corresponding crystals. This finding correlates with earlier reports that glass crystallization is accompanied by a decrease in coordination number and also with the assumption that chalcogenide glasses contain hypervalent configurations.