Ge-free chalcogenide glasses based on Ga-Sb-Se and their stabilization by iodine incorporation

In this paper, we report the existence of new bulk chalcogenide glasses free of germanium and transparent up to 18 μm. The investigation of the Ga-Sb-Se ternary diagram has allowed bringing out the presence of a small glassy domain mainly formed for compositions with low contents of Ga. Thermal, optical and mechanical characteristics of these glasses have been studied. In order to enhance the low stability against crystallization pure iodine was successfully added. At last, structural analysis by Raman spectroscopy was performed to point out the iodine addition effect.