Pure TeO2 glass: Influence of synthesis conditions on linear and non-linear optical, magneto-optical and structural properties.

The first systematic study of linear and non-linear optical, magneto-optical and structural properties of pure TeO 2 glass is presented with regard to different synthesis and material processing conditions. Prepared glasses were synthesized by the intermittent quenching from 900 ∘C in platinum or alumina crucibles and characterized prior to and after optical polishing. The position of the long-wavelength/phonon absorption edge was investigated using various optical models and experimentally obtained data of refractive index and Verdet constants were used for the estimation of magneto-optical anomaly parameter. During synthesis in alumina crucible, up to about 11 wt.% of Al 2 O 3 incorporates into the glass (verified by EDS/XRF and Raman/FTIR spectroscopy) partially transforming the original pure TeO 2 glass backbone structure composed of [TeO 4 ] trigonal bipyramids to [TeO 3+1 ] and [TeO 3 ] structural units with the expected integration of Al into Te−O−Al bridges. The presence of Al 2 O 3 results in lowered density ρ (5.60 → 4.72 g cm−3), refractive index n 1550 (2.086 → 1.927) and Verdet constant V 632 (36.3 → 21.9 rad T−1 m−1) and in increased optical-band-gap energy E g (3.69 → 3.72 eV) and Abbe number ν D (19.9 → 26.9) compared to pure TeO 2 glass prepared in platinum crucible. A dataset of the obtained complex optical parameters (refractive index and extinction coefficient) in the wide spectral range of 193 − 11000 nm is included in the supplementary part. • Pure TeO 2 glass: First complex study of optical and magneto-optical properties. • Impact of synthesis in alumina and Pt crucible on resulting glass properties. • Effect of polishing-induced modifications on optical properties. • Optical (n , k) and magneto-optical (V) constants determined in a broad spectral region. • Estimation of band-gap-energy E g , magneto-optical anomaly (γ) and long-wavelength/phonon edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]