Abstract

Inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS) measurements were carried out on liquid Se50Te50 at temperatures up to 1323 K to investigate how the atomic dynamics changes with temperature through the semiconductor-metal transition. The acoustic mode was clearly observed in the dynamic structure factor and its energy was determined using a damped harmonic oscillator model. The dynamical sound speed obtained by IXS for nm−1 was found to behave similarly to the temperature dependence of ultrasonic sound velocity with a minimum near the semiconductor metal transition. The results can be explained by taking liquid Se50Te50 to be an inhomogeneous liquid consisting of metallic and semiconducting domains whose size is approximately 3 nm. The relaxation time obtained from frequency dependence of the dynamical sound speed was on a picosecond time scale.

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