Glass formation and properties of GeTe4-Ga2Te3-AgX (XÂ =Â I/Br/Cl) far infrared transmitting chalcohalide glasses

A new family of Tellurium-based glasses GeTe4-Ga2Te3-AgX (X = I/Br/Cl) has been investigated and the glass-forming region was determined. Properties measurements include XRD, DTA, vis-NIR, and IR transmission spectra. The amorphous nature of the glasses has been proved by X-ray diffraction. Among the three systems, the GeTe4-Ga2Te3-AgI glass system shows superior glass-forming ability and thermal stability. The maximum value of ΔT (= Tx − Tg) lies at about 110 °C for the glass composition 60GeTe4-2-20Ga2Te3-20AgI, while for 60GeTe4-20Ga2Te3-20AgBr and 60GeTe4-20Ga2Te3-20AgCl, the ΔT values are both only 88 °C. Most of the studied glasses have a wide optical transmission window from 1.8 to 25 μm.