Discover
/
Article

Local Structural Order in Amorphous Semicondcutors

JUL 01, 1988
Dynamical probes provide important information on modifications in the local structure and physical properties of noncrystalline semiconductors.
Jeffrey S. Lannin

Noncrystalline condensed matter presents contemporary physics with a number of basic questions. Traditional solid‐state physics has emphasized the study of periodic systems, whose energy levels may be labeled by the wavevector. The concept of reciprocal space, or of allowed wavevector values, therefore provides a convenient and consistent framework for describing electronic, vibrational and magnetic properties of crystalline solids in terms of energy bands. In a nonperiodic system, the concept of a wavevector is not valid. The need for a fundamental concept that might be useful in the study of nonperiodic systems therefore forces us to focus attention on structural configurations in real space.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

  1. 1. F. Wooten, K. Winer, D. Weaire, Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1392 (1985).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  2. 2. G. L. Simard, B. E. Warren, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 58, 507 (1936).https://doi.org/JACSAT

  3. 3. R. Fainchtein, J. S. Lannin, D. L. Price, Phys. Rev. B 35, 4258 (1987). https://doi.org/PRBMDO
    L. von Heimendahl, J. Phys. F 5, L141 (1975).https://doi.org/JPFMAT

  4. 4. J. C. Phillips, J. Non‐Cryst. Solids 34, 153 (1979).https://doi.org/JNCSBJ

  5. 5. R. J. Hemley, H. K. Mao, P. M. Bell, B. O. Mysen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 57, 747 (1986).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  6. 6. R. J. Tempkin, W. Paul, G. A. N. Connell, Adv. Phys. 22, 531 (1973).https://doi.org/ADPHAH

  7. 7. J. S. Lannin, in Proc. 12th Int. Conf. Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors, M. Mátyǎs, J. Kǒcka, B. Velićky, eds., J. Non‐Cryst. Solids 97–98, 39 (1987), and references therein.https://doi.org/JNCSBJ

  8. 8. N. Maley, J. S. Lannin, D. L. Price, Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 720 (1986).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  9. 9. G. Nelin, G. Nilsson, Phys. Rev. B 5, 3151 (1972).https://doi.org/PLRBAQ

  10. 10. E. P. Donovan, F. Spaepen, D. Turnbull, J. M. Poate, D. C. Jacobsen, J. Appl. Phys. 57, 1795 (1985).https://doi.org/JAPIAU

  11. 11. D. Beeman, R. Tsu, M. F. Thorpe, Phys. Rev. B 32, 875 (1985). https://doi.org/PRBMDO
    N. Maley, D. Beeman, J. S. Lannin, Phys. Rev. B, in press.

  12. 12. R. Biswas, R. M. Martin, R. J. Needs, O. H. Nielsen, Phys. Rev. B 30, 3210 (1984).https://doi.org/PRBMDO

  13. 13. G. Lucovsky, S. Y. Lin, C. K. Wong, in Proc. 18th Int. Conf. Phys. of Semiconductors, O. Engstrom, ed., World Scientific, Singapore (1987), p. 1073.

  14. 14. M. L. Theye, A. G. Gheorghiu, M. Gandais, S. Fisson, J. Non‐Cryst. Solids 37, 301 (1980).https://doi.org/JNCSBJ

  15. 15. J. S. Lannin, in Proc. 12th Int. Conf. Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors, M. Mátyǎs, J. Kǒcka, B. Velicky, eds., J. Non‐Cryst. Solids 97‐98, 203 (1987), and references therein.https://doi.org/JNCSBJ

  16. 16. See recent papers on intermediate‐range order in Proc. 12th Int. Conf. Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors, M. Mátyǎs, J. Kǒcka, B. Velicky, eds., J. Non‐Cryst. Solids 97‐98, 155 ff. (1987).https://doi.org/JNCSBJ

More about the authors

Jeffrey S. Lannin, Penn Stote University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

Related content
/
Article
Interviews now available to the public bring the famed physicist’s lesser-known early years to life.
/
Article
Graduate students in physics and astronomy struggle with mental health. Support from peers and advisers is critical; so is institutional change.
/
Article
Inside certain quantum systems, where randomness was thought to lurk, researchers—after a 40-year journey—have found order and unique wave patterns that stubbornly survive.
/
Article
A half century after the discovery of Hawking radiation, we are still dealing with the quantum puzzle it exposed.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1988_07.jpeg

Volume 41, Number 7

Get PT newsletters in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.