Ke. Lipinskakalita et al., RAMAN AND SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF THE EARLY STEPS OF CRYSTALLIZATIONIN ZRF4-LAF3-ALF3-ERF3 GLASS, Journal of non-crystalline solids, 204(2), 1996, pp. 188-195
The effect of the thermal treatments at a temperatures much below the
glass crystallization on the microstructure of ZrF4-based fluoride gla
ss doped by Er3+ ions was studied. The glass characteristic temperatur
es and the apparent activation energy for crystallization were estimat
ed on the basis of differential thermal experiments. The crystallizati
on of ErxLa1-xZr3F15 phase was detected in nearly transparent samples.
Room temperature, Raman scattering spectra in the acoustic and optica
l phonon regime as well as fluorescence of Er3+ ions in the infrared a
nd visible region indicated a continuous structural modification of th
e glassy matrix during heat treatment and crystallization initiation.