No abstract

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and neutron scattering studies are performed on As-Se glasses in two states: as-prepared (rejuvenated) and aged for ~23 years. The first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) obtained from the structure factor data as a function of composition and temperature indicates that the cooperative processes that are responsible for structural relaxation do not affect FSDP. The results are correlated with the composition dependence of the complex heat capacity of the glasses and concentration of different structural fragments in the glass network. The comparison of structural information shows that density fluctuations, which were thought previously to have a significant contribution to FSDP, have much smaller contribution than the cation-cation correlations, presence of ordered structural fragments or cage molecules.

Photostructural transformations within AsxS100-x (x = 30, 33, 35, 40) thin films upon exposure to LED light of different wavelengths, in both air and argon environments have been studied by high resolution XPS, Raman spectroscopy and LEIS methods. These complementary results show that light of energies close to the band gap does not modify chemical composition of the surface, but induces simple photopolymerization reactions. Superbandgap UV light, however, significantly increases S/As ratio on the surface due to formation of S-rich layer under both environmental conditions. It is proposed that photovaporization of both oxide and non-oxide cage-like molecules is responsible for the observed effect.