Ultraviolet Transmitting Glass Matrix for Low Power Laser Lens
Y. H. Elbashar, A. E. Omran , J. A. Khaliel, A. S. Abdel-Rahaman and H. H. Hassan
The ZnO doped phosphate glass system of chemical composition (65-x) P2O5-(25+x) ZnO-10Na2O, with (x=10,20,30) were prepared using a conventional melt-quench technique. The structural investigation of the glass state was done using the XRD technique. It proved that the obtained materials are amorphous, with no crystal phase present. Their density was measured by the Archimedes method and the molar volume (vm) was calculated. The density increased and the molar volume decreased, respectively, by increasing the ZnO content.
The optical spectroscopic analyses were performed with a spectrophotometer (JASCO Corp., V-570, Rel-00, Japan) covering the wavelength range from 200 to 2500 nm. The UV transmittance of the glass samples at the wavelength range from (100-400) nm of UVC, UVB and UVA varies from 24 to above 55% and increases with the increasing ZnO dopant content. The refractive index been estimated according to the Clausius-Mossotti method using the ionic refraction. Some characteristic features such as elasto-optic coefficient and susceptibility were derived from the obtained values of refractive index. The results reveal the importance of such glass composition for low cost ultraviolet laser lenses and special ultraviolet optics.
Keywords: Phosphate glass, UV transmittance, optical spectroscopy, laser materials