Hughes Aircraft Company

Morton Robinson

Ricardo C Pastor

Roger R Turk

Morris Braunstein

Kaneto Arita

Process for treating molten mixtures of fluorozirconate glass to form high purity infrared transparent glass which is essentially free of zirconium fluoride disassociation impurities and anion impurities. The molten mixture or melt is treated with a moisture-free oxygen reactive atmosphere to prevent formation of disassociation impurities or to remove any of these impurities already present in the melt. The melt is also contacted simultaneously or subsequently with a fluorine species reactive gas to remove any oxygen anion impurities formed during the oxygen reactive atmosphere treatment of the melt to thereby provide a glass having complete fluorine stoichiometry and which is free of disassociation and anion impurities.

Reactive atmosphere processing of heavy-metal fluoride glasses

A method for preparing ultra-pure metal tetrafluorides in which 3d such as Fe impurities are separated from impure material by a combined vaporization-electrolytic separation procedure. Sublimation and distillation methods are disclosed in combination with electrolytic separation by both emf-series displacement (ESD) and direct melt electrolysis (DME).

Method for preparing ultra-pure zirconium and hafnium tetrafluorides

Hot pressing of fluoride glasses is provided. These glasses are synthesized from ZrF.sub.4 -BaF.sub.2 and HfF.sub.4 -BaF.sub.2 systems. Hot pressing rough blanks in a closed die made of hard, polished, optically-figured material, such as cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide, is done by pressing the glasses at a temperature between that of the softening point of the glass and its crystallization temperature and at a pressure sufficient to cause flow of the glass at the pressing temperature. As a consequence, mechanical polishing steps on all glass surfaces is eliminated, thereby minimizing surface contamination.

Hot-pressed fluoride glasses

Improved multicomponent fluorozirconate glasses, doped with chlorine, and a process for making them are disclosed that are continuously transmissive in the infrared spectrum.

Fluorozirconate, glass and the process for making the same

A tetrafluoromethane (CF.sub.4) generator and process is disclosed that facilitates the relatively low temperature production of CF.sub.4 gas via controlled decomposition of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) and tetrafluoroethylene (C.sub.2 F.sub.4). CF.sub.4 produced via this process proves to be an excellent OH.sup.- scavenger in the processing and growth of metal fluoride single crystals.

Generation of CF.sub.4 from Teflon for reactive atmosphere processing

Single crystals, useful as laser emission compounds, having the formula ARF.sub.4 wherein A is potassium, sodium, or lithium, and R is holmium, yttrium, erbium, or dysprosium are prepared by a direct congruent melt crystal growth process that yields crystals exhibiting substantially superior physical and chemical characteristics compared to those grown by conventional methods.

Preparing single crystals of Li(Ho,Y,Er,Tm,Dy)F4 in HF atmosphere

An invention directed to the preparation of laser windows from halide crystals purified by congruent growth from the melt by a reactive atmospheric processing method is disclosed. Single crystal refractory metal halides, and rare earth halides prepared by this invention can be used to produce laser windows of excellent mechanical, thermal, and optical properties.

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Agoura, CA, United States of America

Morton Robinson