- ZBLAN
ZBLAN is a type of
glass that is made of a mixture ofZirconium ,Barium ,Lanthanum ,Aluminum , andSodium Fluoride s. ZBLAN was discovered accidentally by Poulain and Lucas in1975 at TheUniversity of Rennes ,France . This material's main technological application is as anoptical waveguide in planar and fibre form.Although most of ZBLAN's properties (such as strength, thermal stability and corrosion resistance) are inferior compared to
silica , ZBLAN transmits further into theinfrared (IR) part of theelectromagnetic spectrum and has a higherrefractive index than most traditional glass formers. ZBLAN glasses have very poor resistance to attack by water and moisture. However, during melting these glasses 'self-dry'; anyhydroxyl (-OH) groups in the glass network react with fluoride species in the glass, volatilising as gaseoushydrofluoric acid (HF).ZBLANP is a variant which includes
lead .References
* [http://irfibers.rutgers.edu/pdf_files/ir_fiber_review.pdf Infrared Fiber Optics Review by James Harrington - Rutgers University, NJ, USA]
* [http://leverrefluore.com/ Le Verre Fluore] (manufacturer)
* [http://www.irphotonics.com/ IRphotonics] (manufacturer)
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