Thermal stability and crystallization kinetics of Ge–Se–Cd glasses

Abstract

The effect is reported of varying cadmium concentration on the glass transition, thermal stability and crystallization kinetics of Ge₂₀Se_{80− x} Cd _x (x = 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 at. %) glasses. Differential scanning calorimetry results under non-isothermal conditions for the studied glasses are reported and discussed. The values of the glass transition temperature (T_g ) and the peak temperature of crystallization (T_p ) were found to be dependent on heating rate and Cd content. From the heating rate dependence of T_g and T_p , the values of the activation energy for glass transition (E_g ) and the activation energy for crystallization (E_c ) were evaluated and their composition dependence discussed. The thermal stability of the glasses was evaluated using various thermal stability criteria such as ΔT, H_g and S. The stability calculations emphasize that the thermal stability decreases with increasing Cd content.

Keywords:

• chalcogenide glasses
• thermal stability
• crystallization kinetics