Experimental evidence from liquid semiconductors

Two broad types of liquid semiconducting alloys will be discussed, namely those involving alkali metals (e.g., the Li–Pb and the Cs–Au system) and those in which a chalcogen is involved (e.g., Cu–Te or Ni–Te). It will be argued that relatively simple ionic bonding schemes in alkali metal systems must be replaced by more complicated ones in chalcogen based alloys. The close interaction between atomic structure on one hand, and the electronic structure on the other will be emphasized.