Structure and Bonding in Noncrystalline Solids

Structure and Bonding in Noncrystalline Solids
Author: George E. Walrafen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461594774

Noncrystalline (NC) solids, as is well known, lack the long range order of crystals. Accordingly, they exhibit scattering, e.g., x-ray, electron, and neutron, but not the diffraction patterns characteristic of crystals. The intensity distributions from NC solids are usually transformed into radial distribution functions (RDF), but the interpretation of the RDF's is not unique. The lack of long-range order, and the non-uniqueness of the structural interpretation, have constituted the main obstacles to the usual solid state physics approach which has been so successful in dealing with crystals. As a corrolary, questions of local order and structure have frequently been de-emphasized. This monograph contains a collection of chapters many of which emphasize local-structure and chemical bonding as opposed to long-range order. Most of the chapters were chosen from talks given at the international symposium, "Structure and Bonding in Noncrystalline Solids," held in Reston, Virginia in May of 1983. Other chapters, however, were simply submitted independently of the Reston conference. Thus, this book is not a proceedings of that conference, nor was it ever intended to be. The chapters presented here range from theory of bonding and structure, to structurally oriented measurements of various kinds, e.g., ESR, Raman, to more applied chapters. Our goal was to produce a monograph that enhances understanding of the structures of NC solids.

Amorphous Insulators and Semiconductors

Amorphous Insulators and Semiconductors
Author: M.F. Thorpe
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 544
Release: 1997-01-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780792344049

The aim of this NATO ASI has been to present an up-to-date overview of current areas of interest in amorphous materials. In order to limit the material to a manageable amount, the meeting was concerned exclusively with insulating and semiconducting materials. The lectures and seminars fill the gap between graduate courses and research seminars. The lecturers and seminar speakers were chosen as experts in their respective areas and the lectures and seminars that were given are presented in this volume. During the first week of the meeting. an emphasis was placed on introductory lectures, mainly associated with questions relating to the glass-formation and the structure of glasses. The second week focused more on research seminars. Each day of the meeting. about four posters were presented during the coffee breaks, and these formed an important focus for discussions. The posters are not reproduced in this volume as the editors wanted to have only larger contributions to make this volume more coherent. This volume is organized into four sections, starting with general considerations of the glass forming ability and techniques for the preparation of different kinds of glasses.