Modeling of the induced refractive index kinetics in photo-thermo-refractive glass

L.B. Glebov (1) , Julien Lumeau (2) , Leonid B. Glebov (3)

1 CREOL - Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers
2 RCMO - RCMO
3 CREOL - The College of Optics and Photonics [Orlando]

Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a photosensitive multi-component silicate glass that exhibits refractive index change after successive UV-exposure and thermal treatment. The refractive index change was demonstrated to be associated with the precipitation of NaF nano-crystals in the glass matrix. This paper presents a systematic study of the dependence of the refractive index change on dosage of UV-exposure and thermal treatment duration and temperature in already UV-exposed and nucleated samples. It is shown using Avrami plots that the refractive index change in PTR glass is determined by a diffusion-controlled growth of particles from pre-existing nuclei while all coefficients have exponential dependence on temperature (Boltzmann law). The developed model, which includes both photo-chemistry and crystallization processes, allow describing the refractive index change dependence on dosage for a wide range of thermal treatment duration and temperature and an accuracy better than 10%.

Domaines: Optique / photonique

L.B. Glebov, Julien Lumeau, Leonid B. Glebov. Modeling of the induced refractive index kinetics in photo-thermo-refractive glass. Optical Materials Express, 2013, 3 (1), pp.95-104. ⟨hal-00945873⟩