Investigation and evaluation of the glass stability criteria for Se60Ge15X25 (X = Sn, As) compositions

Study of the glass stability for amorphous Se 60 Ge 15 X 25 ( X = Sn, As) compositions has been performed by determination and evaluation of the widely used and more recently glass stability (GS) criteria. Calorimetric differential thermal analysis (DTA) measurements have been used under non-isothermal conditions at different heating rates. GS criteria have been determined based on the interrelationship of the estimated characteristic temperatures from DTA curves. All GS criteria are found to be heating rate and composition dependence. Their values and behaviors indicated that the most stable composition against devitrification with As addition. The calculated criteria values based on the onset crystallization temperature T x and the maximum (peak) crystallization temperature T c exhibit a similar behavior as a function of heating rate and composition, whereas both of them have incompatible values. The relative change parameter of GS criteria as well as their heating rate and composition dependence reflects that the more suitable and sensitive GS criterion, for the studied compositions, is Saad and Poulain ’ s criterion K s and the less one is Lu and Liu’s criterion K LL for two studied compositions.