Cutting-edge techniques for yielding high-quality chalcogenide glasses This pioneering work describes the technology, developed over a 50-year period, to utilize chalcogenide glasses as infrared optical materials. Methods for qualitatively identifying chalcogenide glass compositions and producing high-purity homogeneous glass are discussed. Chalcogenide Glasses for Infrared Optics includes unique production techniques developed through the author's work at both Texas Instruments (TI) and Amorphous Materials, Inc. (AMI). The production of vacuum float zoned silicon, gallium arsenide, and cadmium telluride, all useful in infrared technology, is explained. The book highlights examples of how glass composition can be changed to enhance a particular property. Coverage includes: Transmission of light by solids Physical properties of chalcogenide glasses Glass production Careful characterization of glass properties Conventional lens fabrication--spherical surfaces Molding of unconventional aspheric lenses with diffractive surfaces Glass processes for other applications IR imaging bundles made from chalcogenide glass fibers Production of infrared crystalline materials at AMI Development of an automatic ellipsometer system at TI

This Encyclopedia begins with an introduction summarizing itsscope and content. Glassmaking; Structure of Glass, GlassPhysics,Transport Properties, Chemistry of Glass, Glass and Light,Inorganic Glass Families, Organic Glasses, Glass and theEnvironment, Historical and Economical Aspect of Glassmaking,History of Glass, Glass and Art, and outlinepossible newdevelopments and uses as presented by the best known people in thefield (C.A. Angell, for example). Sections and chapters arearranged in a logical order to ensure overall consistency and avoiduseless repetitions. All sections are introduced by a briefintroduction and attractive illustration. Newly investigatedtopics will be addresses, with the goal of ensuring that thisEncyclopedia remains a reference work for years to come.

The unique properties and functionalities of chalcogenide glasses make them promising materials for photonic applications. Chalcogenide glasses are transparent from the visible to the near infrared region and can be moulded into lenses or drawn into fibres. They have useful commercial applications as components for lenses for infrared cameras, and chalcogenide glass fibres and optical components are used in waveguides for use with lasers, for optical switching, chemical and temperature sensing and phase change memories. Chalcogenide glasses comprehensively reviews the latest technological advances in this field and the industrial applications of the technology.Part one outlines the preparation methods and properties of chalcogenide glasses, including the thermal properties, structure, and optical properties, before going on to discuss mean coordination and topological constraints in chalcogenide network glasses, and the photo-induced phenomena in chalcogenide glasses. This section also covers the ionic conductivity and physical aging of chalcogenide glasses, deposition techniques for chalcogenide thin films, and transparent chalcogenide glass-ceramics. Part two explores the applications of chalcogenide glasses. Topics discussed include rare-earth-doped chalcogenide glass for lasers and amplifiers, the applications of chalcogenide glasses for infrared sensing, microstructured optical fibres for infrared applications, and chalcogenide glass waveguide devices for all-optical signal processing. This section also discusses the control of light on the nanoscale with chalcogenide thin films, chalcogenide glass resists for lithography, and chalcogenide for phase change optical and electrical memories. The book concludes with an overview of chalcogenide glasses as electrolytes for batteries.Chalcogenide glasses comprehensively reviews the latest technological advances and applications of chalcogenide glasses, and is an essential text for academics, materials scientists and electrical engineers working in the photonics and optoelectronics industry. - Outlines preparation methods and properties, and explores applications of chalcogenide glasses. - Covers the ionic conductivity and physical aging of chalcogenide glasses, deposition techniques for chalcogenide thin films, and transparent chalcogenide glass-ceramics - Discusses the control of light on the nanoscale with chalcogenide thin films, chalcogenide glass resists for lithography, and chalcogenide for phase change optical and electrical memories

"Today's SWIR, MWIR, LWIR and multispectral technologies cover a wide range of commercial and military applications and continue to rapidly expand in almost every aspect of our lives. This Field Guide focuses on the most common infrared crystals and glasses used in these systems, from their manufacturing methods through modern optical fabrication technologies to the end-use applications. Detailed optical, crystallographic, mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties of the most popular infrared materials are reviewed in detail along with process flows and relative comparisons. The Field Guide to Infrared Optical Materials provides a concise and convenient resource for those interested in the materials used in infrared optical systems"--

The earliest experimental data on an oxygen-free glass have been published by Schulz-Sellack in 1870 [1]. Later on, in 1902, Wood [2], as well as Meier in 1910 [3], carried out the first researches on the optical properties of vitreous selenium. The interest in the glasses that exhibit transparency in the infrared region of the optical spectrum rose at the beginning of the twentieth century. Firstly were investigated the heavy metal oxides and the transparency limit was extended from (the case of the classical oxide glasses) up to wavelength. In order to extend this limit above the scientists tried the chemical compositions based on the elements of the sixth group of the Periodic Table, the chalcogens: sulphur, selenium and tellurium. The systematic research in the field of glasses based on chalcogens, called chalcogenide glasses, started at the middle of our century. In 1950 Frerichs [4] investigated the glass and published the paper: “New optical glasses transparent in infrared up to 12 . Several years later he started the study of the selenium glass and prepared several binary glasses with sulphur [5]. Glaze and co-workers [6] developed in 1957 the first method for the preparation of the glass at the industrial scale, while Winter-Klein [7] published reports on numerous chalcogenides prepared in the vitreous state.

This book explores oxygen-free chalcogenide glasses, the only commercial transparent vitreous materials used for long-wave infrared radiation. The chalcogenides have been the subject of study around the world for many years, and continue to be an important area of research and development in infrared optics. Written by a renowned glass specialist with extensive experience working with chalcogenide glasses, Glasses for Infrared Optics includes discussions of: Chalcogenide glasses - a unique class of vitreous substances Optical properties of chalcogenide glasses Elaboration of commercial glasses Technological basics for manufacturing optical chalcogenide glasses The material presented in Glasses for Infrared Optics is based on research performed at the Vavilov State Optical Institute in Russia. This is the first and only work that reviews every aspect of chalcogenide glasses. The scope of this comprehensive book is unique, and the major portion of this work has never been published before in English.

This book gives an overview on mid-infrared optical glass and fibers laser, it cover the underlying principle, historic background, as well as recent advances in materials processing and enhanced properties for rare earth doped luminescence, spectroscopy lasers, or optical nonlinearity applications. It describes in great detail, the preparation of high purity non-oxide IR glass and fibers to be used as mid-IR fiber laser and supercontinuum sources for optical fiber spectroscopy. It will be useful for academics, researchers and engineers in various disciplines who require a broad introduction to the subject and would like to learn more about the state-of-the-art and upcoming trends in mid-infrared fiber source development, particularly for industrial, medical and military applications.