Preparation and properties of Ge-Ga-La-S-AgI chalcogenide glass

Chalcogenide glasses of 65GeS2-(25-x)Ga2S3-10AgI-xLa2S3 (x=0, 1, 3, and 5 mol%) were fabricated through the traditional melt-quenching method. The effects of addition of La2S3 on physical, thermal and optical properties of the glass system were investigated. The results showed that the fabricated glasses possess considerably high glass transition temperature, exhibit improved mechanical property and excellent infrared transmission. A redshift at the visible absorbing cut-off edge is observed with increasing of La2S3 content. The direct and indirect optical band gap values are also calculated. Raman spectra analysis indicated that the band at 265 cm−1 decreased in amplitude and a new peak at 230 cm−1 was detected manifesting the formation of La-S bond in the network. In addition, the mid-infrared emission at 3.74 µm of the glasses doped with Tm3+ ions was achieved. The results indicated that the glasses are promising materials for mid-infrared applications such as imaging, remote sensing and lasers.