arsenic chalcogenide glass

materials science

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 18, 2026

Quick Summary

Arsenic chalcogenide glasses are nonoxide, noncrystalline substances formed by melting chalcogen elements (like sulfur, selenium, or tellurium) with elements from Group V (such as arsenic or antimony) and Group IV (like germanium) of the periodic table.1

These materials exhibit semiconducting properties, leading to their use in threshold and memory switching devices, as well as in xerography. While they possess a liquid-like atomic order, they are not classified as true glasses because they do not show a continuous transformation into a liquid state when heated. Arsenic trisulfide, a type of arsenic chalcogenide, has a glass transition temperature of 470 K.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

amorphous solid
Models of atomic scale structures
…to current models for the arsenic chalcogenide glasses As₂S₃ and As₂Se₃. (Sulfur, S, and selenium, Se, belong to the group of elements called chalcogens.) The model was introduced as a schematic analogue for the network structure of the oxide glasses. The prototypical oxide glass is amorphous SiO₂, or silica glass.…
Read More
…to current models for the arsenic chalcogenide glasses As₂S₃ and As₂Se₃. (Sulfur, S, and selenium, Se, belong to the group of elements called chalcogens.) The model was introduced as a schematic analogue for the network structure of the oxide glasses. The prototypical oxide glass is amorphous SiO₂, or silica glass.…
Read More