Phosphorus-containing Complex Chalcogenide Glasses: Synthesis and Characterization

Chalcogenide glasses play a crucial role in modern technologies due to their diverse advantageous features, including infrared transparency, large refractive indices, large optical nonlinearity, and phase change memory effect when exposed to elevated temperatures, pressures, electric shock, or photo exposure. The structural, electrical, thermal, and optical properties of complex chalcogenide glasses (Ge-Ga-P-Sb-Se-Te) with varying P concentrations (1-9 at. %) were studied. The X-Ray Powder Diffraction Method was used to confirm the amorphous nature of the prepared bulk samples. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was utilized to investigate their glass transition and crystallization behavior. DSC scans were performed at different heating/cooling rates as well as at isothermal conditions to investigate crystallization kinetics in the supercooled liquid regime. Optical spectroscopy revealed that the produced glasses exhibit transparency across the 1-23 µm range and a decreasing band gap as P content is increased in the composition. These characteristics make P-containing complex chalcogenides well-suited for telecommunications and optoelectronic applications.