ENTHALPY RECOVERY IN SE RICH GE-SE GLASSES DURING ISOTHERMAL ANNEALING AND CONTINUOUS HEATING

Structural recovery was measured calorimetrically in three Ge-Se glasses with 5, 10 and 15 at.% Ge. Accurate measurements of the apparent heat capacity below and through the glass transition were performed by differential scanning calorimetry. Careful analysis of the contribution of the irreversibility inherent to the glass transition allowed separation of the true heat capacity from the apparent heat capacity in the glass transition region. The quantity used to quantify the relaxation was the enthalpy relaxation as it measures the heat lost by the glass during the annealing. An accurate description of both iso- and non-isothermal measurements was obtained by the activation energy spectrum model.