Local atomic structure and electrical properties of Ge20Se80−xTex (x = 0, 5, 10, and 15) glasses doped with Ho

For heavily doped glasses (1500 and 2000 wt.-ppm Ho), XRD experiments, using high-energy photons, show distinct Bragg peaks stemming from a tiny fraction (about 0.25%) of crystalline phases. Crystalline component is rather homogeneously distributed within the sample. Changing level of Ho doping affects the short-distance arrangement in glasses. A higher level of Ho doping implies shortening of the inter-atomic distances, higher mean atomic density, and higher coordination numbers what suggests better atomic packing.