Metastable Amorphous Phase of Tellurium-Base Alloys

Amorphous phases have been found in tellurium base alloys very rapidly cooled from the liquid state. These phases, which are stable at room temperature, exist in binary alloys containing from approximately 10 to 25 at. % germanium, and from 10 to 30 at. % of gallium or indium. The structure of these alloys was studied by x-ray diffraction (Debye-Scherrer method), using molybdenum Ka radiation monochromatized by the (200) plane of a lithium fluoride crystal. Radial distribution functions were obtained for several alloys and within the experimental accuracy neither the nature of the alloying element nor its concentration had a noticeable effect on the shape of the distribution function. The atomic arrangement in the amorphous alloys is very similar to that found in liquid tellurium which is itself closely related to the crystal structure of solid tellurium. The existence of amorphous phases in tellurium base alloys is discussed in relation with previously published ideas on the various factors governing glass formation in solids