Enhancing the applications of chalcogenide glass for passive and active multispectral applications

In the last decades, the commercial availability of chalcogenide glasses has strongly enhanced the development of infrared optics and technology. However, their production in large batches, the optimization of optical, thermal and mechanical properties and their use as active light sources, in particular lasers, are still not fully addressed. The production of Ga-La-S glass received much attention as a candidate for the production of stable chalcogenides. The high melting point of the precursors allowed a significant improvement of the melting process. In addition, the addition of elements such as Se, Te, In, rare earths and transition metals were proved to enhance the glass forming ability of the glass and its applications. Ga-La-based glasses are characterised by high thermal and mechanical stability and high resistance to acids and solvents and the ability to be readily doped with active light emitting ions. In this talk we discuss four areas of current research; the upgrading of the production of Ga-La-based glasses from laboratory to commercial level, glass optimization through high throughput modifications, compositional modification for multispectral applications and doped glasses with mid-infrared emission