Exploring structural mechanisms in disordered materials using the activation-relaxation technique

TL;DR

This paper reviews the use of the activation-relaxation technique (ART) to explore microscopic structural mechanisms in disordered materials such as amorphous silicon and silica glass, including recent methodological improvements.

Contribution

It introduces recent improvements to ART and demonstrates its application in studying microscopic changes in amorphous materials.

Findings

ART effectively generates well-relaxed disordered structures

Recent improvements enhance the method's accuracy and efficiency

Insights into microscopic mechanisms in amorphous silicon and silica glass

Abstract

Structural mechanisms in disordered materials like amorphous semi-conductors and glasses can be explored with the activation-relaxation technique (ART). The application of a sequence of such mechanisms allows for the generation of well-relaxed structures. The method and its application in the study of the microscopic changes in amorphous silicon and silica glass are reviewed, and two recent improvements are presented.