Short-range order evolution in S-rich Ge–S glasses by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The structure of binary GexS100 − x chalcogenide glasses (10 < x < 30) is determined by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). On the basis of compositional dependence of fitting parameters for Ge and S core level XPS spectra, the ratio between edge- and corner-shared tetrahedra is determined. It is shown that short-range order of these glasses includes fragments of high-temperature crystalline form of GeS2. When subjected to X-irradiation, the structure of investigated glasses appears to become more homogeneous than that of the as-prepared samples.