Te-rich Ge-Te-Se glass for the CO2 infrared detection at 15 μm

Te80-xGe20Sex glasses have been prepared along the GeSe4-GeTe4 axis using the classical method in silica tube under vacuum. A phase separation domain appears for composition around Te40Ge20Se40. Our attention was turned toward the Te-rich compositions corresponding to 1 < x < 5 at.% These glasses are transparent from 4 to about 20 mu m without any purification of the starting elements. Furthermore the difference Delta T between the crystallization temperature T-x and the vitreous transition temperature T-g lies at about 110 degrees C that is to say 30 degrees C higher than for the GeTe4 reference glass. Finally the introduction of a few percentages of Se makes the glasses much easier to prepare and more stable against crystallization, making them drawable as optical fibers for example. Taking into account their transparency window, encompassing the CO2 absorption band around 15 mu m, the Te80-xGe20Sex with 1 < x < 5 at.% could become matchless composition for the CO2 infrared detection as planed by the Darwin mission of the European Space Agency. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.