Observation of two elastic thresholds in GeₓAsySe₁ˍₓ ˍy glasses

We have prepared GeₓAsySe1−x−yglasses with mean coordination numbers (MCNs) from 2.2 to 2.86. Tg was found to generally increase with increasing MCN while the glass density showed a maximum at MCN≈2.45 and a minimum at MCN≈2.65. The elastic moduli of the glasses were estimated from the shear and compressional wave velocitiesmeasured by ultrasonic pulse interferometry. For the first time we simultaneously observed two elastictransition thresholds, the first at MCN≈2.45 and the second at MCN≈2.65, which appear closely correlated with changes in the glass microstructure. The elastic moduli of two groups of samples with the same MCN=2.4 and 2.64 but different compositions suggest that the chemical compositions also have an influence on the elastic properties.