To improve silica glass for better optical properties

Abstract

ABSTRACT Silica glass, as a novel material for various opfical applicalions, can be much more improved for a better quality oflife. The present authorshave found new structural channel(s) in the glass, in addition to the main relaxation caused by the viscous flow in the glass. Thenew channel(s) can be a new breakthrough to bring silica glass to a more stable, less disordered sinicture, leading to improve many optical properties. The authors will put emphases on the iransparency at ithared and the shift ofabsorption edge at ultraviolet Introduction Silica glass is a superb material for optics, photonics, and probably for other various applications, because ofits transparency, wide irans-parency wavelength range, and mechanical and chemical strengths. Optical telecommunication network has been explosively constructed worldwide by optical fibers, and the fibers are made ofsilica glass. Glass is a frozen state ofliquid. With decreasing temperature, glass-foming materials do not crystallize at the melting point but go to so-called the supercooled liquid phase. The supercooled liquid then finally gets immobile during a pracfical length of time because of its largeviscosity. The temperature, where the viscosity is of the order of 1013 and prevents the supercooled liquid to flow, is called the glass