Abstract
The effect is reported of varying cadmium concentration on the glass transition, thermal stability and crystallization kinetics of Ge(20)Se(80-x)Cd(x) (x=2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 at. %) glasses. Differential scanning calorimetry results under non-isothermal conditions for the studied glasses are reported and discussed. The values of the glass transition temperature (T(g)) and the peak temperature of crystallization (T(p)) were found to be dependent on heating rate and Cd content. From the heating rate dependence of T(g) and T(p), the values of the activation energy for glass transition (E(g)) and the activation energy for crystallization (E(c)) were evaluated and their composition dependence discussed. The thermal stability of the glasses was evaluated using various thermal stability criteria such as Delta T, H(g) and S. The stability calculations emphasize that the thermal stability decreases with increasing Cd content.