Emerging brain-inspired computing needs phase-change materials of the next generation with lower energy consumption and wider temperature range. Gallium tellurides appear to be promising candidates enable to achieve the necessary requirements.

Binary Ge–Te and ternary Ge–Sb–Te systems belong to flagship phase-change materials (PCMs) and are used in nonvolatile memory applications and neuromorphic computing. The working temperatures of these PCMs are limited by low-T glass transition and crystallization phenomena. Promising high-T PCMs may include gallium tellurides; however, the atomic structure and transformation processes for amorphous Ga–Te binaries are simply missing. Using high-energy X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy supported by first-principles simulations, we elucidate the short- and intermediate-range order in bulk glassy Ga x Te1–x , 0.17 ≤ x ≤ 0.25, following their thermal, electric, and optical properties, revealing a semiconductor–metal transition above melting. We also show that a phase change in binary Ga–Te is characterized by a very unusual nanotectonic compression with the high internal transition pressure reaching 4–8 GPa, which appears to be beneficial for PCM applications increasing optical and electrical contrast between the SET and RESET states and decreasing power consumption.

Vitreous germanium disulfide GeS2 and diselenide GeSe2 belong to canonical chalcogenide glasses extensively studied over the past half century. Their high-temperature orthorhombic polymorphs are congruently melting compounds, and the tetrahedral crystal and glass structure is largely preserved in the melt. In contrast, the ditelluride counterpart is absent in the Ge–Te phase diagram, which shows only a single compound, monotelluride GeTe. Phase-change materials based on GeTe have become a technologically important class of solids, and their structure and properties are also widely studied. Surprisingly, very scarce information is available for alloys having GeTe2 stoichiometry. Using a fast quenching procedure in silica capillaries, high-energy X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy supported by first-principles simulations, we show that bulk glassy GeTe2 differs substantially from the lighter GeX2 members, revealing 46% of trigonal germanium, 31% of three-fold coordinated tellurium, and only 20% of edge-sharing tetrahedra or pyramids. The fraction of homopolar Ge–Ge bonds is low; however, the population of dominant Te–Te dimers and Te n oligomers, n ≤ 10, appears to be significant. The complex structural and chemical topology of g-GeTe2 is directly related to the thermodynamic metastability of germanium ditelluride, schematically represented by the following reaction: GeTe2 ⇄ GeTe + Te. Disproportionation is complete above liquidus in the temperature range of semiconductor–metal transition, and the dense metallic GeTe2 liquid, mostly consisting of five-fold coordinated Ge species, exhibits high fluidity, strong fragility (m = 99 ± 5), and presumably a fast structural transformation rate combined with low atomic mobility in the vicinity of the glass transition temperature, favorable for reliable long-term data retention in nonvolatile memories. The observed and predicted characteristic features make GeTe2 a promising precursor for the next generation of phase-change materials, especially coupled with additional metal doping, depolymerizing the tetrahedral interconnected glass network and accelerating (sub)­nanosecond crystallization.

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Non-linear optical (NLO) crystals are widely used in advanced photonic technologies for second harmonic and difference frequency generation (SHG and DFG, respectively), producing coherent light at frequencies where existing lasers are unavailable. Isotropic glasses do not exhibit SHG or DFG, except temporary induced anisotropy under external stimuli. However, recent reports on glasses with chiral structural motifs show promising permanent NLO properties. We propose an alternative solution: hybrid molecular/network glasses with non-centrosymmetric HgI2 monomers. Mercury (II) iodide consists of linear HgI2 triatomic molecules in the vapor phase and in the yellow orthorhombic polymorph stable above 400 K. At lower temperatures, the tetragonal red form is composed of corner-sharing HgI4/2 tetrahedra forming a layered extended framework. There is a gap in the molecular evolution; direct structural measurements of the liquid HgI2 phase are missing. Using high-energy X-ray scattering, pulsed neutron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy supported by structural and vibrational modeling, we show that the mercury (II) iodide melt and HgI2-containing sulfide glasses are built-up by bent HgI2 monomers (the bond angle ∠I-Hg-I = 156±2° in the melt). The non-centrosymmetric entities imply intrinsic optical non-linearity of the second order, confirmed by a strong SHG response.

Crystalline mercury sulfide exists in two drastically different polymorphic forms in different domains of the P,T-diagram: red chain-like insulator α-HgS, stable below 344 °C, and black tetrahedral narrow-band semiconductor β-HgS, stable at higher temperatures. Using pulsed neutron and high-energy X-ray diffraction, we show that these two mercury bonding patterns are present simultaneously in mercury thioarsenate glasses HgS-As2S3. The population and interconnectivity of chain-like and tetrahedral dimorphous forms determine both the structural features and fundamental glass properties (thermal, electronic, etc.). DFT simulations of mercury species and RMC modeling of high-resolution diffraction data provide additional details on local Hg environment and connectivity implying the (HgS2/2)m oligomeric chains (1 ≤ m ≤ 6) are acting as a network former while the HgS4/4-related mixed agglomerated units behave as a modifier.

A small difference in energy between homopolar and heteropolar bonds and the glass-forming ability of pure chalcogens leads to unexpected trends in densification mechanisms of glassy chalcogenides compared to vitreous oxides. Using high-precision compressibility measurements and in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction up to 14.7 GPa, we show a new densification route in a canonical glass As2S3. After the first reversible elastic step with a maximum pressure of 1.3 GPa, characterized by a strong reduction of voids and cavities, a significant bonding or chemical disorder is developed under higher pressure, reaching a saturation of 30% in the population of As–As bonds above 8–9 GPa. The pressure-driven chemical disorder is accompanied by a remarkable structural relaxation and a strongly diminished optical gap and determines structural, vibrational, and optical properties under and after cold compression. The decompressed recovered glass conserves a dark color and exhibits two relaxation processes: (a) fast (a few days) and (b) slow (months/years at room temperature). The enhanced refractive index of the recovered glass is promising for optical applications with improved functionalities. A nearly permanent red shift in optical absorption after decompression can be used in high-impact-force optical sensors.

Sodium-conducting sulfide glasses are promising materials for the next generation of solid-state batteries. Deep insight into the glass structure is required to ensure a functional design and tailoring of vitreous alloys for energy applications. Using pulsed neutron diffraction supported by first-principles molecular dynamics, we show a structural diversity of Na2S–As2S3 sodium thioarsenate glasses, consisting of long corner-sharing (CS) pyramidal chains CS-(AsSS2/2) k , small As p S q rings (p + q ≤ 11), mixed corner- and edge-sharing oligomers, edge-sharing (ES) dimers ES-As2S4, and isolated (ISO) pyramids ISO-AsS3, entirely or partially connected by sodium species. Polysulfide S–S bridges and structural units with homopolar As–As bonds complete the glass structure, which is basically different from structural motifs predicted by the equilibrium phase diagram. In contrast to superionic silver and sodium sulfide glasses, characterized by a significant population of isolated sulfur species Siso (0.20 < Siso/Stot < 0.28), that is, sulfur connected to only mobile cations M+ with a usual M/Siso stoichiometry of 2, poorly conducting Na2S–As2S3 alloys exhibit a modest Siso fraction of 6.2%.