10 - Heavy metal oxide glasses and their optoelectronic applications (infrared transmission, luminescence, nonlinear optical susceptibilities, etc.)

Abstract

Glasses have attracted much technological and practical attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties, which depend on the structure that they accommodate. In particular, heavy metal oxide glasses have attracted the attention of many scientists due to the combination of their properties such as low melting temperatures, chemical durability and stability, a high dielectric constant, low phonon energy, a broad optical transmission window, and high linear and nonlinear refractive indices. One of their delightful properties is their strong nonlinear optical (NLO) behavior with which the materials are applicable for the fabrication of electronic devices, optical switches, optical waveguides, etc. Many organic, inorganic, and semiorganic materials with high polarizability are understood to be suitable candidates for the NLO study. Yet, the total polarization of the material hinges on its non-centrosymmetric properties, which were originally formed by the direction of the interrupting field. The growing interest in bismuthate glasses is due to their promising applications in the field of optoelectronics and nonlinear optics as photonic switches. They exhibit third-harmonic generation due to their low melting temperatures, extensive glass formation range, physical stability, high refractive index, and high nonlinear optical susceptibility. Similarly, tellurite glasses have gained much importance for their exclusive properties such as a broad optical transmission window, a high dielectric constant, low phonon energy, and high linear and nonlinear refractive indices. Similarly, germanium oxide glasses are also preferred in many optoelectronic uses for various purposes including optical and radiation applications.