Ternary chalcogenide glass materials containing germanium can display enhanced properties compared to corresponding binary chalcogenide glass materials lacking germanium. For instance, ternary chalcogenide glass materials containing germanium, arsenic and selenium can exhibit improved Vickers micro-hardness values and other enhanced mechanical properties while still maintaining small changes in refractive index as function of temperature. Such ternary glass materials can have a formula of (AsySez)[(100-x)·0.01]Gex, in which x ranges between about 1 and 5, y ranges between about 30 and 40, z ranges between about 60 and 70, and y+z=100. Methods for producing the ternary glass materials can include blending arsenic, selenium, and germanium as a melt, and cooling the melt to form the ternary glass material.