SILICATE-GLASSES DOPED WITH MICROSCOPIC CADMIUM-SULFIDE SELENIDE CRYSTALS AND OPTICAL WAVE-GUIDES BASED ON THEM

A zinc-boron silicate glass with an admixture of cadmium sulfide-selen ide has been synthesized. The nucleation and growth of microscopic cry stals which precipitate in the glass matrix upon annealing have been s tudied. A quantum size effect is manifested in a long-wave shift of th e optical absorption edge of the test samples. As the microscopic crys tals grow, the dispersion of their sizes increases, and they become le ss spherical. As these sizes increase further, the cubic crystal latti ce becomes hexagonal. It is possible to initiate growth of microscopic crystals by applying an intense electron beam. A study of rubidium-po tassium ion exchange in glasses with microscopic crystals reveals a su bstantial difference between the concentration profiles of the rubidiu m and the potassium and a substantial difference in the associated pro files of the refractive index for glass samples annealed under various conditions. The apparent reason is a difference in the stress associa ted with the microscopic crystals. (C) 1995 American Institute of Phys ics.