Corning Incorporated

Andrea L Sadd

Roger F Bartholomew

Bruce Gardiner Aitken

Mark A Newhouse

Mark Lawrence Powley

Frank A Annunziata

Steven Bruce Dawes

An optically transmissive material and the production of optically transmissive articles therefrom, in particular a bond between two optically transmissive components including optical fibers and planar devices.

Optically transmissive bonding material

This invention is directed to the production of transparent glasses exhibiting transmission far into the infrared regime of the radiation spectrum. The glasses consist essentially, in mole percent, of 42-55% CdF.sub.2 and/or CdCl.sub.2, 30-40% NaF and/or NaCl, 2-20% total of BaF.sub.2 and/or BaCl.sub.2 +KF and/or KCl, consisting of 0-15% BaF.sub.2 and/or BaCl.sub.2 and 0-7% KF and/or KCl, 1-12% total of at least one stabilizing metal halide selected from the group LiX, BeX.sub.2, MgX.sub.2, MnX.sub.2, PbX.sub.2, TlX, COX.sub.2, and ZnX.sub.2, and 0,005-0.5% REX.sub.3, wherein Re is at least one rare earth metal selected from the lanthanide series of rare earth metals and X is at least one halide selected from the group consisting of fluoride, chloride, and bromide. The preferred glasses contain at least 2% each of BaF.sub.2 and/or BaCl.sub.2 and KF and/or KCl.

Rare earth-doped, stabilized cadmium halide glasses

This invention is directed to the production of transparent glasses exhibiting transmission far into the infrared regime of the radiation spectrum. The glasses consist essentially, in mole percent, of 42-55% CdF.sub.2 and/or CdCl.sub.2, 2-15% BaF.sub.2 and/or BaCl.sub.2, 30-40% NaF and/or NaCl, 2-7% KF and/or KCl, 1-12% total of at least one stabilizing metal halide selected from the group LiX, BeX.sub.2, MgX.sub.2, MnX.sub.2, PbX.sub.2, TlX, CoX.sub.2, and ZnX.sub.2, and 0.005-0.5% ReX.sub.3, wherein Re is at least one rare earth metal selected from the lanthanide series of rare earth metals and X is at least one halide selected from the group consisting of fluoride, chloride, and bromide.

Disclosed is a method of forming a doped glass body. The glass body is formed by adding a dopant to a glass preform, at least part of which has interconnective pores. The porous preform is immersed in a solution of a salt of the dopant dissolved in an organic solvent having no OH groups. The solvent is removed, and the porous glass preform is heat treated to consolidate it into a non-porous glassy body containing the dopant dispersed throughout at least a portion of the body. An OH-free solvent is selected because of its beneficial effect on the preform during the drying step. Whereas OH-containing solvents such as water and alcohol caused cracking and/or flaking of the outer surface of the porous preform following the drying step, an undamaged surface is formed by the present invention.

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Corning, NY, United States of America

Andrea L Sadd