Media 2: Yb³⁺-doped GeS₂-Ga₂S₃-CsCl glass with broad and adjustable absorption/excitation band for near-infrared luminescence

Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 July 2013 (ol-38-13-2280

Media 1: Yb³⁺-doped GeS₂-Ga₂S₃-CsCl glass with broad and adjustable absorption/excitation band for near-infrared luminescence

Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 July 2013 (ol-38-13-2280

Media 3: Yb³⁺-doped GeS₂-Ga₂S₃-CsCl glass with broad and adjustable absorption/excitation band for near-infrared luminescence

Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 July 2013 (ol-38-13-2280

High Verdet Constant Glass for Magnetic Field Sensors

Due to the high transparency, high Verdet constant, as well as easy processing properties, rare-earth ion-doped glasses have demonstrated great potential in magneto-optical (MO) applications. However, the variation in the valence state of rare-earth ions (Tb3+ to Tb4+) resulted in the decreased effective concentration of the paramagnetic ions and thus degraded MO performance. Here, a strategy was proposed to inhibit the oxidation of Tb3+ into Tb4+ as well as improve the thermal stability by tuning the optical basicity of glass networks. Moreover, the depolymerization of the glass network was modulated to accommodate more Tb ions. Thus, a record high effective concentration (14.19 × 1021/cm3) of Tb ions in glass was achieved, generating a high Verdet constant of 113 rad/(T·m) at 650 nm. Lastly, the first application of MO glass for magnetic field sensors was demonstrated, achieving a sensitivity of 0.139 rad/T. We hope our work provides guidance for the fabrication of MO glass with high performance and thermal stability and could push MO glass one step further for magnetic sensing applications

From Phase Separation to Nanocrystallization in Fluorosilicate Glasses: Structural Design of Highly Luminescent Glass-Ceramics

Tremendous enhancement of optical emission efficiency was achieved in fluorosilicate glasses by growing lanthanide doped fluoride nanocrystals embedded in oxide glass matrix. The formation mechanism of the microstructure was elucidated by combining solid-state NMR, scanning TEM, EDX map, and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. The results reveal that the growth of fluoride nanocrystals in fluorosilicate glass was originated from fluoride phase separation. Atomic level structures of phase separation of fluoride-rich regions in oxyfluoride glasses matrix were observed from both EDX maps and MD simulations, and it was found that, while silicon exclusively coordinated by oxygen and alkali earth ions and lanthanide mainly coordinated by fluorine, aluminum played the role of linking the two fluoride glass and oxide glass regions by bonding to both oxygen and fluoride ions