National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Computer relaxed structural models of arsenic based chalcogenide glasses allowed to demonstrate that the atomic configurations in these materials are anisotropic with a strong tendency to extend as disordered layers. In the frame of these models the photostructural transformations and photoinduced anisotropy find a straightforward explanation.

The glass system (As2S3)(1-x)(Sb2S3)(x), 0 less than or equal tox less than or equal to0.65, has been studied by X-ray diffraction and microhardness measurements. The long-time Irradiation of the samples by ultraviolet rays has been carried out and its structural effect was investigated. The substitutional model and the microphase separation model have been discarded. A new intermediate model, whose main feature is the formation of mezoscopic Sb2S3 clusters, has been advanced.

The luminescence spectra of some Cd1-xMnxS nanocrystals have been measured at room and liquid nitrogen temperature. The Mn2+ ions give rise to a broad emission band centered at about 580 nm, between the emission bands of CdS host.

Pure and tin-doped AsSe amorphous films were investigated. The changes in the MRO induced by Sn were analysed be accurate profiling the first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) in the X-ray diffraction diagram. A shift of FSDP as a function of tin concentration was observed. The structural changes induced by ultraviolet rays (lambda = 336 nm) for various time intervals of irradiation were revealed by small angle X-ray diffraction. It was revealed the formation of a special layer at the surface of the films. whose thickness increases during UV irradiation.

DC magnetization and AC complex susceptibility measurements on (Bi,Pb) : 2223 high-temperature superconductors impurified with various amounts of BaZrO3 are presented. The results are discussed in the frame of the critical state model. and the values of the inter- and intragranular critical current density as well as of the field for full penetration are estimated. The values of the intergranular critical current density are consistent with those obtained from transport measurements. The intragranular critical current density and the field for full penetration have similar values from both DC magnetization and AC susceptibility measurements. It was shown that, in the (Bi,Pb) : 2223 system. BaZrO3 impurification changes only the properties of the intergrain matrix, while the superconducting properties of the grains are not modified.

The effect of rare earth (Dy and Sm) and transition metal (Mn) luminescent impurities on the optical properties of As2S3 glass is studied in a wide spectral region. The Raman, infrared, band-to-band and edge absorption spectroscopies are employed to obtain information about the incorporation of impurity ions in the host glass structure and the corresponding changes in intrinsic optical characteristics. The effects of light-soaking and thermal treatment on the doped As2S3 glasses were examined as well. In the fundamental absorption region a reflectivity maximum at 2.98 eV shows blue (Dy, Sm) or red (Mn) shift depending on the electronegativity of the impurity, in accordance with the corresponding variations of the glass structure. Near the edge absorption the impurity affects strongly the slope and the magnitude of the weak absorption tail. In the wide range of transparency the addition of impurity suppresses several absorption bands indicating the interaction of dopants with the host glass contaminations. Some variations of the characteristic Raman spectra under light exposure acid thermal ageing of doped glasses were registered. The observed effects of metal dopants on the As2S3 glass are discussed in connection with the expected behaviour of the impurities in the glass.

The medium range order in disordered chalcogenides has been explained by the existence of reminiscent crystal-like configurations with distorted arrangement of the atoms. Using the paracrystalline theory, two parameters have been defined for the characterization of the MRO in glass: paracrystallite thickness and paracrystallite distortion.

The luminescence and thermoluminescence have been measured in vitreous materials doped with Nd3+. The luminescence spectra show a maximum at 400 nm and a shoulder at about 440 nm. The measured global thermoluminescence shows a broad band with a maximum at 270 degreesC, which suggest a continuous distribution of electron traps induced by ionizing radiation. Thermoluminescence measured through two optical filters which transmit at about 400 nm and 440 nm wavelength shows a structured behavior with two glow peaks at 270 degreesC and 330 degreesC. This apparently contradictory behavior has been explained by the existence in this material of a continuous distribution of tr ap levels and a discrete distribution of recombination levels. The 270 degreesC and 330 degreesC glow peaks have been interpreted as being due to recombination of the electrons released from electron traps with O2-. and Nd3+ hole centers. Due to the high stability of the defects induced by the radiation observed from thermoluminescence measurements, this material could be used as a new radiation detector.

Amorphous thick films in the system Se-S have been prepared by splat-cooling Local irradiation of the films with laser pulses of various intensities and wavelengths were carried out. The effects induced by laser pulses with special emphasis to the eutectic composition Se42S58 were investigated by optical microscopy and before and after annealing of the films. For low density of power incident on the film, a local photo-darkening effect is observed. For mean power density the photo-darkened region increases. For high power density a considerable destructive effect appears, which determine the appearance of clusters of bubbles after annealing the film at the softening temperature.