Refractive index, dispersion and absorption of fluorine-doped silica glass in the deep UV region

Abstract

Silica glass doped with 0–3.7 wt% F was prepared by sintering a powder compact in a SiF 4 gas atmosphere. The refractive index, dispersion and absorption spectra were examined in the wavelength range from the visible to the deep UV. Both index and dispersion decreased linearly with increasing fluorine concentration. The parameters in a Sellmeier formula were estimated by fitting the index to it. The rapid increase in absorption caused by the UV absorption edge began at 153 nm for the fluorine-doped silica, a wavelength slightly less than that of pure silica. The results of Sellmeier parameters and deep UV absorption spectra indicate that fluorine doping gives no significant change in a wavelength of UV absorption edge.