Compositional Dependence Of Hardness Of Ge-Sb-Se Glass For Molded Lens Applications

Chalcogenide glass in the ternary Ge-Sb-Se system is inherently moldable, thus being considered as a strong candidate material for use in infrared-transmitting lens applications from the viewpoint of thermal and mechanical stability. In an effort to experimentally determine compositional region suitable for the molded lens applications, we evaluate its compositional dependence of hardness. Among the constituent atoms, Ge content turns out to exert a most conspicuous correlation with hardness. This phenomenological behavior is then explained in connection with the structural evolution that Ge brings about.