Journal of Non-crystalline Solids 

Abstract: In a discussion of conduction in glasses containing transition metal ions, the following points are stressed: 1. (a) The process is similar to “impurity conduction” in doped and compensated semi-conductors. 2. (b) There should be two terms in the activation energy, the Miller-Abrahams term and a polaron hopping term. 3. (c) Both terms should tend to zero, giving a decreasing slope of the ln p versus 1/T curve, as T → 0. 4. (d) The Heikes-Ure formula for the thermopower is discussed and a tentative explanation given of the difference between vanadium- and iron-containing glasses.

Abstract: In recent years, ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) techniques have made a profound impact on the investigation of the structure of the electronic and dynamic properties of liquid and amorphous materials In this paper, recent developments in this field are reviewed and it is shown that the exact calculation of the electronic groundstate at each MD timestep is feasible using modern iterative matrix diagonalization algorithms Together with the use of ultrasoft pseudopotentials, ab initio MD simulations can be extended to open-shell transition metals with a high density of states at the Fermi-level The technique is applied to a number of interesting cases: (a) liquid simple metals (Li, Na, Al, Ge), (b) liquid transition metals (Cu, V), and (c) the transition from a liquid metal to an amorphous semiconductor by the rapid quenching of Ge

Abstract: An overview of relaxational phenomenology is given in a manner intended to highlight a number of the important problems which, notwithstanding much recent sophisticated investigation, continue to confront the field. The rapidly lengthening timescale for diffusional and/or reorientational motion, which provokes the glass transition, is examined within the framework of the ‘strong’ and ‘fragile’ classification of both liquids and plastic crystals. The behavior patterns observed are related to the topological features of the potential energy hypersurfaces which may characterize each extreme. In view of the implication that the observed glass transition is the kinetically obscured reflection of an underlying higher order thermodynamic transition which could be associated with a diverging length scale (at least for fragile systems), the problem of the basic diffusional length scale at the glass transition, using a probe molecule approach, is considered. Then, details of the kinetics of relaxation under isothermal conditions are reviewed to decide on the range of deviations from Debye behavior which may be encountered. A correlation with fragility is strongly indicated. The phenomena of serial decoupling of relaxational modes from the main structural relaxation as T g is approached is outlined and, finally, the additional phenomena that may be encountered in experiments that explore the state-dependence (or non-linearity) of relaxation are briefly examined.

Abstract: The pronounced glass-forming tendencies of alloys of S and Se with Ge and/or As are discussed topologically. An atomic model is introduced which for predominantly covalent forces constitutes the first microscopic realization of Kauzmann's description of the glass transition as an entropy (not enthalpy or volume) crisis. The model contains no adjustable parameters and predicts the glass-forming tendency as a function of composition in excellent agreement with experiment. Several related properties, including phase diagrams, radial distribution functions and crystal structures are discussed in the context of chemical bonding and short-range order in the non-crystalline covalent networks of these materials.

Abstract: Experimental evidence about the states in the gap of chalcogenide glasses is discussed. The total concentration of states is estimated from the measurements of the magnetic susceptibility and their density distribution from the optical and photo-emission measurements. Possible models for the interpretation of the experimental facts are considered.