Effect of copper on the structure and other physical properties of CuAsTe chalcogenide glasses

Abstract

The first neutron diffraction radial distribution functions (RDF) of ternary CuAsTe chalcogenide glasses with general formula Cu x As 0.45 − x Te 0.55 are presented. The average coordination numbers, derived from the area under the first RDF peak, indicate that there is a critical composition x c ≈ 0.06, below which the incorporation of copper does not practically change the Te coordination. Above this value the Te coordination starts to increase linearly from 2 to 4 with increasing x. This behaviour is confirmed by the compositional dependence of the mass density. A linear correlation, T g (K) = 371 + 15.5 CN, between the average coordination number CN, commonly associated with the rigidity of the network, and the glass transition temperature T g is established, which indicates that the thermal stability of the glasses increases with increasing copper content.