The present invention relates to a glass matrix which includes 4-70 wt.% SiO2, 0.5-20 wt.% Al2O3, 0-20 wt.% R2O, 0-30 wt.% R'O, 8-85 wt.% Ta2O5, 0-40 wt.% Nb2O5, and 0.01-1.0 wt.% R''2O3, where R2O + R'O is between about 2-35 wt.%, Ta2O5 + Nb2O5 is between about 8-85 wt.%, R is selected from a group consisting of Li, Na, K, and combinations thereof, R' is selected from a group consisting of Ba, Sr, Ca, Mg, Zn, Pb, and combinations thereof, and R'' is a rare earth element. The present invention also relates to use of the glass matrix in forming optic waveguides such as optic amplifiers. The present invention further relates to a transparent glass ceramic that contains pyrochlore, perovskite, or a combination thereof as its major crystal phase, and includes 4-40 wt.% SiO2, 1-15 wt.% Al2O3, 0-20 wt.% K2O, 0-12 wt.% Na2O, 0-5 wt.% Li2O, 8-85 wt.% Ta2O5, and 0-45 wt.% Nb2O5, wherein Ta2O5 + Nb2O5 is at least about 20 wt.% and (K2O + Li2O + Na2O) is between about 5-20 wt.%. Also disclosed is a method of making the glass ceramic and use of the glass ceramic as a ferro-electric component in electro-optical devices or as a filtering core in an optical filtering device.

Tantalum containing glasses and glass ceramics

A method is set forth for making polarizing glasses having high dichroic ratios by drawing relatively small silver-containing particles under relatively high stress and elongating such particles during the drawing process without rupturing the glass draw by coating the polarizing glass with a substantially low viscosity skin glass.

Drawing laminated polarizing glasses

A volume Bragg laser including a resonator comprising photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) volume diffractive elements that can be used in a laser emitting window of transparency of PTR glass to provide control of the lasers spectral and angular parameters, and methods, devices, apparatus and systems related thereto. The high efficiency volume Bragg gratings recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass preferably has an absolute diffraction efficiency exceeding approximately 95% in transmitting and reflecting modes is used for selection of a transverse and longitudinal mode for thermal, optical and mechanical stabilization of the volume Bragg lasers and coherent coupling of different lasers. Robustness, compactness, thermal and laser stability along with the ability to place several elements in the same space allows the use of sophisticated optical system according to the invention in fields of military lasers, optical communications, data storage and processing, and the like.

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Volume bragg lasers based on high efficiency diffractive elements in photo-thermo-refractive glass

This invention relates to the discovery of glass compositions suitable for cladding photochromic optical fibers. Such glasses consist essentially, in weight percent on the oxide basis as calculated from the batch, of about 50-67 percent SiO2, 5-15 percent Al2O3, 5-25 percent B2O3, 0-5 percent P2O5, 0-5 percent RO wherein RO is one or more oxides selected from the group consisting of CaO, SrO, MgO, ZnO, BaO and NiO, 0-5 percent Li2O, 0-12 percent Na2O, 0-10 percent K2O and 0-5 percent Cs2O, wherein (2Li2O + Na2O + K2O + 1/2Cs2O) is at least about 10 percent, 0-10 percent TiO2 and 0-10 percent CeO2, wherein (TiO2 + CeO2) does not exceed about 10 percent, 0-0.5 percent Sb2O3 and 0-0.5 percent As2O3, to which may be added 0-15 percent F, as calculated in excess of the weight of the other glass constituents. These glasses are particularly useful because, in addition to combining proper thermal expansion and refractive index with good ultraviolet light absorption, they do not deleteriously effect the natural fading rate of the photochromic core glass during the fabrication of the cladded fiber optic.

Cladding glasses for photochromic optical fibers

A sizing composition for glass fibers is provided, comprising polyvinyl acetate, water dispersible epoxy resin and numerous lubricants, wherein the sized glass fibers are used in fiber optics for the transmission of light or images from one point to another, which sizing enables further processing of the glass fibers without substantial loss in transmission.

Sizing composition and glass fibers sized therewith

This invention relates to photochromic glass compositions containing about 10-50 percent by weight Ta2O5 which have refractive indices higher than about 1.52, and, preferably, higher than about 1.58, thereby rendering them especially suitable as a core glass in the production of photochromic optical fibers.

Roger J Araujo

Papers

Photochromic glass containing tantalum oxide for optical fiber fabrication