Abstract: A bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material can be made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. Additionally, a p-type transparent conductive material can comprise a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a method of making chalcogenide glasses including holding the melt in a vertical furnace to promote homogenization and mixing; slow cooling the melt at less than 10° C. per minute; and sequentially quenching the melt from the top down in a controlled manner. Additionally, the present invention provides for the materials produced by such method. The present invention is also directed to a process for removing oxygen and hydrogen impurities from chalcogenide glass components using dynamic distillation.

Abstract: A bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material can be made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. Additionally, a p-type transparent conductive material can comprise a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550 ° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950 ° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. The present invention also provides for a BCSF transparent conductive thin film made by forming a sputter target by either hot pressing bulk BCSF or hot pressing Cu2S, BaS and BaF2 powders and sputtering a BCSF thin film from the target onto a substrate. The present invention is further directed to a p-type transparent conductive material comprising a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: A method for forming a high purity, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) bulk material is disclosed. The method includes sealing precursor materials for forming the bulk material in a reaction vessel. The precursor materials include copper, at least one chalcogen selected from selenium, sulfur, and tellurium, and at least one element from group IIIA of the periodic table, which may be selected from gallium, indium, and aluminum. The sealed reaction vessel is heated to a temperature at which the precursor materials react to form the bulk material. The bulk material is cooled in the vessel to a temperature below the solidification temperature of the bulk material and opened to release the formed bulk material. A sputtering target formed by the method can have an oxygen content of 10 ppm by weight, or less.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming a thin film of a copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)-type material are disclosed. The method includes providing first and second targets in a common sputtering chamber. The first target includes a source of CIGS material, such as an approximately stoichiometric polycrystalline CIGS material, and the second target includes a chalcogen, such as selenium, sulfur, tellurium, or a combination of these elements. The second target provides an excess of chalcogen in the chamber. This can compensate, at least in part, for the loss of chalcogen from the CIGS-source in the first target, resulting in a thin film with a controlled stoichiometry which provides effective light absorption when used in a solar cell.

Abstract: A thermally stable chalcogenide glass, a process for making the same, and an optical fiber drawn therefrom are provided. A chalcogenide glass having the composition Ge(5?y)As(32?x)Se(59+x)Te(4+y) (0?y?1 and 0?x?2) is substantially free from crystallization when it is heated past the glass transition temperature Tg or drawn into optical fibers. A process for making the thermally stable chalcogenide glass includes purifying the components to remove oxides and scattering centers, batching the components in a preprocessed distillation ampoule, gettering oxygen impurities from the mixture, and heating the components to form a glass melt. An optical fiber formed from the chalcogenide glass is substantially free from crystallization and exhibits low signal loss in the near-infrared region, particularly at wavelengths of about 1.55 ?m.

Abstract: A thermally stable chalcogenide glass, a process for making the same, and an optical fiber drawn therefrom are provided. A chalcogenide glass having the composition Ge(5?y)As(32?x)Se(59+x)Te(4+y) (0?y?1 and 0?x?2) is substantially free from crystallization when it is heated past the glass transition temperature Tg or drawn into optical fibers. A process for making the thermally stable chalcogenide glass includes purifying the components to remove oxides and scattering centers, batching the components in a preprocessed distillation ampoule, gettering oxygen impurities from the mixture, and heating the components to form a glass melt. An optical fiber formed from the chalcogenide glass is substantially free from crystallization and exhibits low signal loss in the near-infrared region, particularly at wavelengths of about 1.55 ?m.

Abstract: A thermally stable chalcogenide glass, a process for making the same, and an optical fiber drawn therefrom are provided. A chalcogenide glass having the composition Ge(5?y)As(32?x)Se(59+x)Te(4+y) (0?y?1 and 0?x?2) is substantially free from crystallization when it is heated past the glass transition temperature Tg or drawn into optical fibers. A process for making the thermally stable chalcogenide glass includes purifying the components to remove oxides and scattering centers, batching the components in a preprocessed distillation ampoule, gettering oxygen impurities from the mixture, and heating the components to form a glass melt. An optical fiber formed from the chalcogenide glass is substantially free from crystallization and exhibits low signal loss in the near-infrared region, particularly at wavelengths of about 1.55 ?m.

Abstract: This invention pertains to a chalcogenide glass of low optical loss that can be on the order of 30 dB/km or lower, and to a process for preparing the chalcogenide glass.

Abstract: A thermally stable chalcogenide glass, a process for making the same, and an optical fiber drawn therefrom are provided. A chalcogenide glass having the composition Ge(5?y)As(32?x)Se(59+x)Te(4+y) (0?y?1 and 0?x?2) is substantially free from crystallization when it is heated past the glass transition temperature Tg or drawn into optical fibers. A process for making the thermally stable chalcogenide glass includes purifying the components to remove oxides and scattering centers, batching the components in a preprocessed distillation ampoule, gettering oxygen impurities from the mixture, and heating the components to form a glass melt. An optical fiber formed from the chalcogenide glass is substantially free from crystallization and exhibits low signal loss in the near-infrared region, particularly at wavelengths of about 1.55 ?m.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550 ° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950 ° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. The present invention also provides for a BCSF transparent conductive thin film made by forming a sputter target by either hot pressing bulk BCSF or hot pressing Cu2S, BaS and BaF2 powders and sputtering a BCSF thin film from the target onto a substrate. The present invention is further directed to a p-type transparent conductive material comprising a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: A thermally stable chalcogenide glass, a process for making the same, and an optical fiber drawn therefrom are provided. A chalcogenide glass having the composition Ge(5?y)As(32?x)Se(59+x)Te(4+y) (0?y?1 and 0?x?2) is substantially free from crystallization when it is heated past the glass transition temperature Tg or drawn into optical fibers. A process for making the thermally stable chalcogenide glass includes purifying the components to remove oxides and scattering centers, batching the components in a preprocessed distillation ampoule, gettering oxygen impurities from the mixture, and heating the components to form a glass melt. An optical fiber formed from the chalcogenide glass is substantially free from crystallization and exhibits low signal loss in the near-infrared region, particularly at wavelengths of about 1.55 ?m.

Abstract: A thermally stable chalcogenide glass, a process for making the same, and an optical fiber drawn therefrom are provided. A chalcogenide glass having the composition Ge(5?y)As(32?x)Se(59+x)Te(4+y) (0?y?1 and 0?x?2) is substantially free from crystallization when it is heated past the glass transition temperature Tg or drawn into optical fibers. A process for making the thermally stable chalcogenide glass includes purifying the components to remove oxides and scattering centers, batching the components in a preprocessed distillation ampoule, gettering oxygen impurities from the mixture, and heating the components to form a glass melt. An optical fiber formed from the chalcogenide glass is substantially free from crystallization and exhibits low signal loss in the near-infrared region, particularly at wavelengths of about 1.55 ?m.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a method of making chalcogenide glasses including holding the melt in a vertical furnace to promote homogenization and mixing; slow cooling the melt at less than 10° C. per minute; and sequentially quenching the melt from the top down in a controlled manner. Additionally, the present invention provides for the materials produced by such method. The present invention is also directed to a process for removing oxygen and hydrogen impurities from chalcogenide glass components using dynamic distillation.

Abstract: This invention pertains to a chalcogenide glass of low optical loss that can be on the order of 30 dB/km or lower, and to a process for preparing the chalcogenide glass.

Abstract: This invention pertains to a chalcogenide glass of low optical loss that can be on the order of 30 dB/km or lower, and to a process for preparing the chalcogenide glass.

Abstract: Hydrogen and/or carbon impurities are removed from chalcogenide or chalcoide glasses by the addition of a halide, such as TeCl.sub.4, to the batch composition. During melting of the batch composition, the metal halide reacts with the hydrogen and/or carbon impurities to form a hydrogen halide and/or carbon tetrahalide gas and a metal which becomes incorporated into the chalcogen-based glass. Useful halides include halides of sulfur, selenium, tellurium, polonium, or halides of a metal (such as aluminum, magnesium, zirconium, or a mixture thereof) that forms a stable oxide. Mixed metal halides may also be used. The glass melt is then distilled, outgassed, homogenized, fined, and annealed. An apparatus specially designed for making a fiber preform by the above process is also described. An annealed preform made by this method may be drawn into a low-loss fiber in the 2 .mu.m to 12 .mu.m range.