Preparation and characterization of IR transmitting Ge-Se-Te glasses

IR transmittingmaterials are required for remote detection of many biological molecules like water, ozone and carbon dioxide as their vibrational absorption bands are between 3-5 and 8-12 µm. Te based chalcogenide glasses having low phonon energy and high refractive index transmit the infrared light from 0.8 µm to 30 µm. Ge-Se-Te glasses prepared by melt quenching method are found to transmit IR light upto 25 µm. These glasses transmit 75 % of the IR light. The glass forming ability and thermal stability of these glasses are high and are difficult to crystallize. The ease of glass formation along with the transmission of IR light over a wide wavelength range indicate that they are potential materials for making IR lenses and drawing optical fibers for IR sensing and spectroscopic applications.