High refractive index LaGaO3-TiO2 amorphous spheres prepared by containerless solidification

Abstract

A series of amorphous spheres with nominal compositions of (1−x)LaGaO3-xTiO2 (x = 0, 0.625, 0.650, 0.675, 0.700, 0.725, 0.740) have been successfully prepared by containerless solidification. It is found that the LaGaO3-TiO2 system has an extremely wide glass-forming region of 0.625 ≤ x ≤ 0.740; in this region, transparent amorphous spheres of diameter approximately 2–4 mm can be obtained. The maximum difference between Tg and Tx (ΔT = Tx − Tg) exceeds 80 °C. The as-prepared amorphous materials exhibit a high refractive index of 2.49 for x = 0.740 and a transmittance exceeding 70% in the visible light range. The refractive index can be tuned by adjusting the amount of TiO2. These findings show great promise for the application of LaGaO3-TiO2 systems as high refractive index materials and open up avenues for the exploration of novel potential optical components.