Vcs. Reynoso et al., PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HEAVY-METAL OXIDE GLASSES - BI2O3-PBO-B2O3-GEO2 SYSTEM, Journal of materials chemistry, 4(4), 1994, pp. 529-532
High-refractive-index glasses of heavy-metal oxides have large optical
non-linearities which make them promising for optoelectronic applicat
ions. This paper describes the fabrication and characterization of the
xBi2O3-PbO-B2O3-(52-x)GeO2 (BPBG) glass system with x = 10, 15, 20, 3
0 and 35. The BPBG glasses were melted in a high-purity alumina crucib
le placed in a Super Khantal resistance furnace at 1000-degrees-C for
30 min and then poured onto a steel plate. The characterization was do
ne by X-ray diffraction (XRD), density, dilatometry, light absorption
(UV-VIS-IR) and linear refractive-index measurements. The infrared spe
ctra show the presence of BiO6 and GeO6 in the glass structure suggest
ing a network former role for the bismuth oxide. These measurements al
lowed us to estimate the non-linear refractive index n2, using Line's
formula, to be as high as 1.5 x 10(-18) m2 W-1.