The Relationship between Microhardness and Glass Transition Temperature of Chalcogenide Glasses

In this work, we have discussed the transition of glass to a softened (viscous) state as a result of simultaneous impacts of temperature and mechanical stresses. This approach allows describing the temperature dependence of the microhardness of glass below the glass transition temperature and substantiates the previously suggested functional relationship of these two parameters. As an illustration, the proposed model is applied to a classical chalcogenide glass, namely to glassy selenium and glasses based on glassy selenium. Important result lies in the fact that the relationship between the microhardness and enthalpy of glasses is established.