Structural study of GexSb40−xS60 (x = 10, 20 and 30) glasses

The atomic structures of Ge–Sb–S ternary glasses have been investigated by using the neutron diffraction method. The structure factor, S(q), for GexSb40−xS60 (x = 10, 20 and 30) has a first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) at around 1.1 Å−1. The oscillation in S(q) persisted up over 25 Å−1 indicates that the chemical short-range order is presented in these glasses. The aspect of S(q) for Ge10Sb30S60 is different from those for Ge20Sb20S60 and Ge30Sb10S60. These results show that the atomic structure changes drastically between Ge10Sb30S60 and Ge20Sb20S60. The short-range order of tetrahedral GeS4 and pyramidal SbS3 units seems to exist in the GexSb40−xS60 (x = 10, 20 and 30) glasses.