The precipitation of nanosized crystals CuBr and CuCl in potassium aluminoborate glasses con taining additives of jointly introduced Cu and Br, as well as Cu and Cl, respectively, has been studied by the methods of small angle X ray scattering (SAXS) and X ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analysis. It has been found that, upon thermal treatments at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature T g , halide phases precipitate in the form of liquid drops containing CuBr and KBr or CuCl and KCl. The presence of nanocrystals CuBr or CuCl, respectively, has been established in the samples at room temperature by the XRPD method. Liquidus, solidus, and crystallization onset temperatures in the regions of precipitated halide phases in heat treated glass samples have been determined from the temperature dependences of SAXS inten sity. The liquid released upon the heat treatment inside a matrix of potassium aluminoborate glass remains in the state of a supercooled liquid at temperatures essentially below the solidus temperature. At the drop sizes of the order of 10 nm, crystallization processes in them start at temperatures of 40-85°C.
Oxide and non-oxide glass with tailored morphology or microstructure induced by photo-exposure and subsequent heat treatment can result in new materials with unique optical functions. Spatial control of where this local modification occurs can result in optical materials with refractive or diffractive behavior different from those found in homogeneous optical materials. We review the use of such strategies to introduce such unique optical function to commercially developed oxide and prototype chalcogenide glass ceramic media that have yielded a range of performance attributes that make them unique in applications requiring reduced size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C). We summarize how these materials have been designed and created to yield components that combine multiple functions in a single optical element, resulting in unique performance solutions for a variety of optical systems, highlighting the future potential these materials offer.
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