Evaluation and selection of chalcogenide glasses as an acousto-optic medium material under multiple criteria

• Published in: Optical materials 2025-02, Vol.159, Article 116556
• Main Authors: Wu, Miao, Dai, Shixun, Qiu, Zhaoxiang, Cui, Ao, Wang, Yingying, Lin, Changgui, Wu, Zhongchao, Jiang, Lingling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acousto-optic effect; Chalcogenide glass; Material selection; Multi-criteria decision-making
• ISSN: 0925-3467
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2024.116556

Chalcogenide (ChG) glasses are highly regarded as excellent infrared acousto-optic (AO) materials due to their wide infrared transmission window and high AO figures of merit (M2). However, ChG glasses fail to simultaneously meet the requirements of high M2 high mechanical strength, low acoustic attenuation coefficient, high laser damage threshold, and low thermo-optical coefficient, limiting the application of ChG glass-based AO devices in certain fields. Therefore, selecting ChG glass as an AO material requires compromising among conflicting characteristics. This work investigates the AO performance, laser damage resistance characteristic, mechanical property, and thermo-optical effect of six ChG glasses. A systematic multi-criteria hierarchical structure is established to comprehensively evaluate material selection based on considerations of AO efficiency, thermal stability, and processability. Moreover, Ge20Ga5Sb14S61 glass is determined to be the optimal AO material in terms of comprehensive performance by employing a multi-criteria decision-making method, combined with the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution and the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Additionally, this study performs a sensitivity analysis on the weights due to the significant effect of criterion weights on ranking results. In conclusion, this research presents a useful tool for selecting ChG glasses as AO materials and serves as a reference for AO device designers. [Display omitted] •Acoustic and optical properties of six chalcogenide (ChG) glasses as an acousto-optic (AO) medium are investigated.•Selection of ChG glasses is based on multiple dimensions, including AO efficiency, thermal stability, and processability.•Multi-criteria decision-making techniques provide reliable selections for the AO application of ChG glasses.•Ge20Ga5Sb14S61 glass is the best AO material for high laser power applications.