Medium range order and structural relaxation in As–Se network glasses through FSDP analysis

Abstract

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and neutron scattering studies are performed on As–Se glasses in two states: as-prepared (rejuvenated) and aged for ∼27 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 effect than the cation–cation correlations, presence of ordered structural fragments or cage molecules.