Effect of Sb substitution on thermal behaviour of Te–Se–Ge glassy system

a-Te9Se72Ge19−xSbx (8 ≤ x ≤ 12) glassy alloy has been synthesized using melt quenching technique. Thermal behaviour has been studied using modulated differential scanning calorimetry. The glassy alloys exhibit mild phase separation for composition at x = 8, 9. The phase separation merges in the glass matrix for further increase in the Sb content. Among homogeneous single phase compositions, the glassy composition at x = 10 has the high values of activation energy of crystallization, thermal stability and glass-forming ability. An attempt has been made to bring melting point close to peak crystallization temperature for glassy matrices to make material suitability for electrical and memory switching devices.