Photostructural Changes and Electrical Switching in Amorphous Chalcogenides: Bond Waves in Thin Films

Abstract

Photostructural changes and electrical switching are the well-known features of amorphous chalcogenides, also known as glassy semiconductors. Although the both phenomena were intensively studied experimentally and have a wide practical application, their nature is debated up to now. I propose a new approach that considers glass as a self-organizing system owing to characteristic instability of chemical bonding in the form of bond wave. The bond wave model is shown to be suitable for explanation of the observed effects in thin films under the action of light or electrical field, a result that opens a new way for understanding and managing the processes in glassy semiconductors. on understating glass as a self-organizing system [6]. To be more concrete, the bond wave model is used for explanation of the known experiments and for planning of the new ones, emphasizing the usage of information fields to control underlying processes. 2. SELF-ORGANIZATION AND THE BOND WAVE MODEL 2.1. The Bond Wave Model This model stands on two supports: the theory of chemical bonding and the theory of self-organization. These two aspects are considered independently in glass community up to now. Chemical bonding is a