Chemical bond approach to glass transition temperature and crystallization activation energy in Se90In10-xSnx (2 ≤ x ≤ 8) semiconducting glasses

Ternary chalcogenide glasses Se90In10-xSnx (2 <= x <= 8 at.%) have been prepared by melt quenching technique. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) has been used to determine the glass transition temperature T-g, onset T-c and peak T-p temperatures of crystallization. The variation of both T-c and T-p with the heating rate has been utilized to calculate the activation energy of crystallization E-c, under non-isothermal condition, using Kissinger, Ozawa, Augis and Bennet and Takhor models. Results reveal that both T-g and E-c decrease with the addition of Sn up to 6 at.% with sharp increase in both values at 8 at.% and the crystal growth occurs in one-dimension. The overall mean bond energy < E > is found to decrease with Sn concentration and the correlation of both T-g and E-c with < E > is linear up to 6 at.% of Sn where as at 8 at.%, deviation from linearity is observed and an empirical relation of the form T-g (or E-c) = Sigma(3)(i=0) C-i < E >(i) has been suggested to describe such behavior. The obtained crosslinking parameter P-rich and R-values reveal the occurrence of chemically stable composition at higher percentages of Sn. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.