X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements have been carried
out on amorphous (Ge(1-x)M(x))Se-2 (M = As, Sb and Bi). The results in
dicate that pyramidal structural units, MSe(3/2), in which an M atom i
s covalently surrounded by three Se atoms, are incorporated into the t
etrahedral GeSe4/2 network matrix, although the Bi-Se distance in the
BiSe3/2 unit is somewhat longer than the covalent one. It is concluded
that the occurrence of a p-n transition in the Bi glasses results fro
m the inherent n-type nature of the BiSe3/2 unit.