Effect of the Copper on Thermo - Mechanical and Optical Properties of S-Se-Cu Chalcogenide Glasses

Abstract

The S15Se85-xCux (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8) chalcogenide glasses are synthesized using melt quenching technique and the effect of Copper on thermal, mechanical and optical properties of chalcogenide glasses are investigated. The glassy natures of the prepared samples were verified by X-ray diffraction and DSC studies. The optical band gap of the samples is estimated and it is observed that optical band gap is decreased with increasing of the copper content and is discussed in terms of cohesive energy and coordination number. The basic thermo-mechanical parameters such as micro-hardness, Volume (Vh) and formation energy (Eh) of micro voids in the glassy network and the modulus of Elasticity (E) are calculated in present glasses. The composition dependence of micro hardness is discussed in terms of heat of atomization energy.