Devitrification theory and glass-forming phase diagrams of fluoride compositions

Pamela McNamara; Robert H. Mair

doi:10.1117/12.605978

23 February 2005 Devitrification theory and glass-forming phase diagrams of fluoride compositions

Pamela McNamara, Robert H. Mair

Proceedings Volume 5650, Micro- and Nanotechnology: Materials, Processes, Packaging, and Systems II; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.605978
Event: Smart Materials, Nano-, and Micro-Smart Systems, 2004, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

Heavy metal fluoride glasses have many photonic applications because of their wide spectral window and lasing properties when doped with rare earths. Before fluorozirconate glasses were discovered almost all known glasses were oxide based and glass formation in fluoride compositions was not predicted. The usual theoretical approach considers the thermodynamics of solidification from the melt. The theory presented here assumes that almost any material can be solidified as a glass if cooled fast enough and considers conditions necessary to devitrify the glass formed. Nucleation and crystal growth parameters can be defined which depend only on the composition of the glass and the thermodynamic and atomic properties of the constituents and which are independent of time and thermal history of the glass. These give a quantitative expression corresponding to experimental glass-stability which can be used to plot the entire glass forming phase diagram of any fluoride system. The theoretical glass-forming phase diagrams closely match the experimental diagrams. The nucleation and crystal growth parameters can be used to define glass-forming limits which are universal for all glasses, whether fluoride, chalcogenide, oxide, nitride or even metallic glasses. Silica is confirmed as the most stable of all possible glasses.

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Pamela McNamara and Robert H. Mair "Devitrification theory and glass-forming phase diagrams of fluoride compositions", Proc. SPIE 5650, Micro- and Nanotechnology: Materials, Processes, Packaging, and Systems II, (23 February 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.605978

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