Glassy quaternary chalcogenides thin films in chemical and optoelectronic transducers

Abstract

Quaternary chalcogenides are complex either crystalline or vitreous materials, four-elements containing at least one chalcogen (S, Se, Te) combined with other elements, offering tunable electronic, optical, thermal and gas sensing properties. They are of great interest for photovoltaics, thermoelectricity, optoelectronics and development of chemical transducers. In the present paper an extensive review of the electronic, optical and gas sensing properties of thin films of the quaternary glassy chalcogenide materials is presented and discussed, alongside with the own experimental investigations related to As-Te-Ge-S and Ag: (As-S-Ge) quaternary systems.