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Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 19848

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Laeticia Petit

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Guest Editor

Photonics Laboratory, Tampere University, Korkeakoulunkatu 3, 33720 Tampere, Finland
Interests: glass; glass-ceramic; luminescence; fiber; film; crystals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Alexander Veber

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Guest Editor

Photonics Laboratory, Tampere University, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland
Interests: novel optical materials; glass; glass–ceramic; laser physics; optical characterization of materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The addition of rare-earth (RE) ions into glasses has become of great interest for a wide range of applications related to telecommunications, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), solar panels, and spectroscopy, just to cite a few. As the optical (including luminescence) properties are mainly determined by the local environment around the RE ions, effort has been focused worldwide on the development of new glasses with exotic compositions. Since their discovery in 1953, glass–ceramics have also become of particular focus. These materials are produced by controlled crystallization of glasses and therefore contain one or more crystalline phases evenly distributed within the glass phase. Controlled ceramization yields an array of materials with interesting combinations of properties, especially with enhanced optical properties (such as absorption and emission cross-sections and energy transfer rates) compared to their glassy counterparts, if the crystalline phase of the desired nature and structure precipitates around the rare-earth ions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the latest developments in glasses and glass–ceramics, and especially to advance the fundamental understanding of the relationship between material chemistry (both composition and structure) and optical, in particular luminescence properties. Topics of interest also include the latest research on advanced characterization of material properties and new processing methods for the fabrication of glasses and glass–ceramics.

We do believe this collection will stimulate and circulate new ideas on the topic and will contribute to the dissemination of expertise for young investigators, as well as leading experts in the field.

Prof. Laeticia Petit
Dr. Alexander Veber
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

glasses
glass–ceramics
processing methods
property characterization
optical
structure
luminescence

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3559 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of ZnO Addition on Er³⁺ Near-Infrared Emission, the Formation of Ag Nanoparticles, and the Crystallization of Sodium Fluorophosphate Glass

by Luukas Kuusela, Alexander Veber, Nadia G. Boetti and Laeticia Petit

Materials 2020, 13(3), 527; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13030527 - 22 Jan 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2160

Abstract

The impact of the progressive addition of ZnO up to 5 mol% on the thermal, structural, and optical properties of Er³⁺-doped phosphate glasses within the system NaPO₃-NaF-ZnO-Ag₂O is discussed. The glass network was found to depolymerize upon the addition of ZnO. This promotes a slight increase in the intensity of the emission at 1.5 µm as well as enhances the silver ions clustering ability under the heat treating. The Ag-nanoparticles formed after moderate heat-treatment can further enhance the emission at 1.5 µm, whereas an excessive amount of the clusters leads to the opposite effect. The addition of ZnO helps to slightly increase the glass ability of the system. The crystallization behavior study revealed that surface crystallization is observed for all the glasses. It is found that even a small ZnO addition changes the crystalline phases formed after devitrification. Moreover, the addition of ZnO decreases the crystallization tendency of the glass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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9 pages, 1911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Powder-in-Tube Reactive Molten-Core Fabrication of Glass-Clad BaO-TiO₂-SiO₂ Glass–Ceramic Fibers

by Shuo Yang, Hanna Heyl, Daniel Homa, Gary Pickrell and Anbo Wang

Materials 2020, 13(2), 395; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13020395 - 15 Jan 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3173

Abstract

In this paper we report the fabrication of glass-clad BaO-TiO₂-SiO₂ (BTS) glass–ceramic fibers by powder-in-tube reactive molten-core drawing and successive isothermal heat treatment. Upon drawing, the inserted raw powder materials in the fused silica tubing melt and react with the fused silica tubing (housing tubing) via dissolution and diffusion interactions. During the drawing process, the fused silica tubing not only serves as a reactive crucible, but also as a fiber cladding layer. The formation of the BTS glass–ceramic structure in the core was verified by micro-Raman spectroscopy after the successive isothermal heat treatment. Second-harmonic generation and blue-white photoluminescence were observed in the fiber using 1064 nm and 266 nm picosecond laser irradiation, respectively. Therefore, the BTS glass–ceramic fiber is a promising candidate for all fiber based second-order nonlinear and photoluminescence applications. Moreover, the powder-in-tube reactive molten core method offers a more efficient and intrinsic contamination-free approach to fabricate glass–ceramic fibers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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13 pages, 4337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Europium-Doped Tellurite Glasses: The Eu²⁺ Emission in Tellurite, Adjusting Eu²⁺ and Eu³⁺ Emissions toward White Light Emission

by Hagar Elkholy, Hosam Othman, Ibrahim Hager, Medhat Ibrahim and Dominique de Ligny

Materials 2019, 12(24), 4140; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12244140 - 10 Dec 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2803

Abstract

Europium-doped magnesium tellurite glasses were prepared using melt quenching techniques and attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy was used to study the glass structure. The glass transition temperature increased with increasing MgO content. Eu²⁺ and Eu³⁺ emissions were studied using photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The broad emission of Eu²⁺ ions centered at approximately 485 nm was found to decrease in intensity with increasing MgO content, while the Eu³⁺ emission was enhanced. The Eu³⁺ emission lay within the red orange range and its decay time was found to increase with increasing MgO content. Different excitation wavelengths were used to adjust Eu²⁺ to Eu³⁺ emissions to reach white light emission. The white light emission was obtained for the sample with the lowest MgO content under excitation in the near-UV range. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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15 pages, 3652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Ag₂O Content on the Optical and Spectroscopic Properties of Fluoro-Phosphate Glasses

by Marwa Ennouri, Luukas Kuusela, Ifa Jlassi, Bernard Gelloz, Laeticia Petit and Habib Elhouichet

Materials 2019, 12(21), 3516; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12213516 - 26 Oct 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2360

Abstract

Glasses with the system (84.60-x) NaPO₃-5 ZnO-(9.40-x) NaF-x Ag₂O-1 Er₂O₃, (x = 0, 2, 4, and 6) (mol%) were synthesized by the conventional melt-quenching method. The impact of the addition of Ag₂O on the physical, thermal, structural, and optical properties of the glasses is discussed. The Judd-Oflet analysis was used to evaluate the radiative properties of the emission transitions of the glasses. The enhancement of luminescence properties due to Ag₂O is discussed in terms of consequent changes in the local electromagnetic field, symmetry, and the ligand field around the Er³⁺ ion. The heat treatment of the glass was performed in order to precipitate Ag nanoparticles (NPs), which form as a layer at the surface of the heat-treated glasses as confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Ag NPs were found to increase the intensity of the emission at 1.5 µm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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10 pages, 1455 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Insights and Aspects to the Modeling of the Molten Core Method for Optical Fiber Fabrication

by Maxime Cavillon, Peter Dragic, Benoit Faugas, Thomas W. Hawkins and John Ballato

Materials 2019, 12(18), 2898; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12182898 - 07 Sep 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2439

Abstract

The molten core method (MCM) is a versatile technique to fabricate a wide variety of optical fiber core compositions ranging from novel glasses to crystalline semiconductors. One common feature of the MCM is an interaction between the molten core and softened glass cladding during the draw process, which often leads to compositional modification between the original preform and the drawn fiber. This causes the final fiber core diameter, core composition, and associated refractive index profile to vary over time and longitudinally along the fiber. Though not always detrimental to performance, these variations must, nonetheless, be anticipated and controlled as they directly impact fiber properties (e.g., numerical aperture, effective area). As an exemplar to better understand the underlying mechanisms, a silica-cladding, YAG-derived yttrium aluminosilicate glass optical fiber was fabricated and its properties (core diameter, silica concentration profile) were monitored as a function of draw time/length. It was found that diffusion-controlled dissolution of silica into the molten core agreed well with the observations. Following this, a set of first order kinetics equations and diffusion equation using Fick’s second law was employed as an initial effort to model the evolution of fiber core diameter and compositional profile with time. From these trends, further insights into other compositional systems and control schemes are provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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11 pages, 3950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of Mid-Infrared Emission and Structural Properties of Heavy Metal Oxide Glass and Optical Fibre Co-Doped with Ho³⁺/Yb³⁺ Ions

by Tomasz Ragin, Agata Baranowska, Marcin Kochanowicz, Jacek Zmojda, Piotr Miluski and Dominik Dorosz

Materials 2019, 12(8), 1238; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12081238 - 15 Apr 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2857

Abstract

Bismuth-germanate glasses with low hydroxide content co-doped with Ho³⁺/Yb³⁺ ions have been investigated in terms of structural and spectroscopic properties. To reduce OH^- ions content and improve transmittance value at the wavelength of 3.1 µm, the glass synthesis has been carried out in low vacuum conditions (45–65 mBar). The composition of the host glass based on heavy metal oxides affects the maximum phonon energy (hω_max = 724 cm⁻¹), which low value has a positive impact on the mid-infrared emission parameters. Emission band at the wavelength of 2.87 µm was observed in glass co-doped with mol% 0.25 Ho₂O₃/0.75 Yb₂O₃ under 980 nm high power laser diode wavelength excitation. Lifetime measurements of the Yb³⁺:²F_5/2 quantum level indicate efficient Yb³⁺ → Ho³⁺ energy transfer (η = 61%). The developed active bismuth-germanate glass was used as the core of optical fibre operating in the mid-infrared region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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Review

Jump to: Research

21 pages, 3287 KiB

Open AccessReview

Radiation-Induced Defects and Effects in Germanate and Tellurite Glasses

by Mikko Hongisto, Alexander Veber, Yannick Petit, Thierry Cardinal, Sylvain Danto, Veronique Jubera and Laeticia Petit

Materials 2020, 13(17), 3846; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13173846 - 31 Aug 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3279

Abstract

This review focuses on the radiation-induced changes in germanate and tellurite glasses. These glasses have been of great interest due to their remarkable potential for photonics, in terms of extended transmission window in the mid-infrared, ability of rare-earth loading suitable with a laser, and amplification in the near- and mid-infrared or high nonlinear optical properties. Here, we summarize information about possible radiation-induced defects, mechanisms of their formation, and the influence of the glass composition on this process. Special attention is paid to laser-induced structural modification of these glasses, including possible mechanisms of the laser-glass interaction, laser-induced crystallization, and waveguide writing. It is shown that these methods can be used for photostructuring of the glass and have great potential for practical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Glass and Glass-Ceramics)

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