Determination of the degree of ordering of materials’ structure by calculating the information-correlation characteristics

A new method for the analysis of self-organization processes in solid-state materials by calculating the information-correlation characteristics of a surface (in particular, by calculating the average mutual information) is described. Criteria for determining the degree of ordering of a surface structure are suggested; these criteria have been tested for experimental semiconductor structures of single-, poly-crystalline, and amorphous silicon. The dependences of the information characteristics for films of disordered semiconductors on the technological conditions of their fabrication are established.