Structural characterization of light-induced crystal growth in Se98Sb2 chalcogenide glass

The present paper reports the detailed study of crystallization morphology of light-induced crystal growth in Se98Sb2 chalcogenide glass using DSC, XRD and SEM techniques. Thermally-activated crystallization of the samples in powder form is analyzed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) at different heating rates under non-isothermal conditions. The activation energy of crystallization has been calculated by analyzing the data using the classical Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) model.Amorphous thin films of Se98Sb2 are used for light-induced crystal growth. The d.c. conductivity of the films is taken as a characteristic quantity to measure the extent of light-induced crystal growth. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has been carried out on Se98Sb2 samples for different illumination time and their diffractograms are analyzed to obtain information about various crystallographic aspects. Scanning electron microscopy has been used to confirm light-induced crystal growth.

► We have reported light-induced crystallization of glassy Se98Sb2 alloy.
► We have calculated activation energy for thermally activated and light-induced crystal growth.
► We find that the activation energy is higher for the former case.
► Two well-known crystalline phases Se3Sb2 (orthorhombic) and Se (monoclinic) are identified