Amorphous Chalcogenide Semiconductors and Related Materials

This book provides introductory, comprehensive, and concise descriptions of amorphous chalcogenide semiconductors and related materials. It includes comparative portraits of the chalcogenide and related materials including amorphous hydrogenated Si, oxide and halide glasses, and organic polymers. It also describes effects of non-equilibrium disorder, in comparison with those in crystalline semiconductors. - Provides introductory and concise descriptions to the field of Amorphous Chalcogenide Semiconductors, or Chalcogenide Glassy Semiconductors; - Includes comparisons of crystalline and non-crystalline semiconductors, descriptions of fundamental features of amorphous semiconductors, and clear indications of still controversial problems; - Explains the principles underlying practical applications such as DVD (digital versatile disk), x-ray imager, avalanche vidicon, infrared devices, so forth. Also, it includes growing future applications such as neuro-morphic devices and non-linear optical components.