THE SHORT-RANGE ORDER OF LIQUID EUTECTIC A(III)-TE AND A(IV)-TE ALLOYS

Many properties of liquid A(III)-Te and A(IV)-Te alloys are characteri zed by extreme values near the composition of the intermediate phases caused by associate-like atomic formations. Also, liquid Te undergoes alterations of different properties, especially in the supercooled reg ion. In order to get information on the extent to which the Te-rich eu tectics are influenced by the above observations, the electrical resis tivity, the viscosity and the static structure have been investigated. It is concluded from the structural data that the eutectic melts cont ain associates similar to the atomic formations occurring in the regio n of the intermediate phases. The strong changes of the properties wit h temperature indicate that the association tendency in the A(III)-Te eutectics and Ge15Te85 significantly increases with decreasing tempera ture.