Crystallization kinetics and optical band gap studies of Se96In4 glass before and after slow neutron irradiation

Results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under non-isothermal condition on Se96In4 semiconducting chalcogenide glass before and after slow neutron irradiation, for different exposure times, have been reported and discussed. Some of Sn atoms have been injected into the glass by nuclear transmutation processes and the binary glass is converted into a ternary. This is accompanied by an increase in the activation energy of crystallization, Ec, and in the glass transition temperature, Tg and a decrease in the glass transition activation energy, Et, in the onset crystallization temperature, Tc and in the peak temperature of crystallization Tp. Optical band gap measurements have also been carried out, before and after irradiation, on identical thin pellets of Se96In4 glass. The energy band gap, Eg, is found to decrease upon irradiation. These effects have been attributed to a structural change upon doping and to irradiation induced defects.