Zhao Qichao, Li Jianfeng, Zha Tingyu, Zhang Penghui, Long Yi, Fang Zaijin
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications, Institute of Photonics Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023 May 9;13(10):1586. doi: 10.3390/nano13101586.
A fluorosilicate (FS) nano-crystallized glass ceramic (NGC) is one of the most commonly used gain materials for applications in optical devices due to its excellent thermal stability as well as high-efficiency luminescence. However, FS glass can hardly be used to prepare NGC fibers due to its high preparation temperature. Here, a series of low-temperature fluoro-borosilicate (FBS) glasses were designed for the fabrication of active NGC fibers. By modulating BO, the preparation temperature of FBS glass was reduced to 1050 °C, and the crystallization in FBS NGCs was more controllable than in FS NGC. The crystallization of the impure phase was inhibited, and single-phase rare earth (RE)-fluoride nanocrystals were controllably precipitated in the FBS NGCs. The 40Si-20B FBS NGC not only exhibited a higher optical transmittance, but the luminescence efficiency was also much higher than traditional FS NGCs. More importantly, NGC fibers were successfully fabricated by using the designed FBS glass as core glass. Nanocrystals were controllably precipitated and greatly enhanced, and upconversion luminescence was observed in NGC fibers. The designed FBS NGCs provided high-quality optical gain materials and offered opportunities for fabricating a wide range of NGC fibers for multiple future applications, including fiber lasers and sensors.
氟硅酸盐（FS）纳米晶化玻璃陶瓷（NGC）因其出色的热稳定性和高效发光特性，是光学器件应用中最常用的增益材料之一。然而，由于FS玻璃的制备温度较高，很难用于制备NGC纤维。在此，设计了一系列低温氟硼硅酸盐（FBS）玻璃用于制造有源NGC纤维。通过调节BO，FBS玻璃的制备温度降低至1050℃，且FBS NGC中的结晶比FS NGC中的更可控。不纯相的结晶受到抑制，单相稀土（RE）氟化物纳米晶体在FBS NGC中可控地沉淀。40Si - 20B FBS NGC不仅具有更高的光学透过率，而且发光效率也远高于传统的FS NGC。更重要的是，通过使用设计的FBS玻璃作为芯玻璃成功制备了NGC纤维。纳米晶体可控地沉淀并显著增强，在NGC纤维中观察到了上转换发光。所设计的FBS NGC提供了高质量的光学增益材料，并为制造用于多种未来应用（包括光纤激光器和传感器）的各种NGC纤维提供了机会。
