On the control of optical transmission of aluminosilicate glasses manufactured by the laser floating zone technique

In this work, a detailed study of the properties of aluminosilicate glass rods manufactured by means of the laser floating zone (LFZ) technique is presented. Samples fabrication was carried out in controlled atmosphere using air, nitrogen, and oxygen. Transmission spectra showed that glasses manufactured in oxygen presented high optical transmission in the visible spectral range compared to those manufactured in other environments, thus allowing us to tune their optical behavior between transparent and nearly opaque through the control of the surrounding atmosphere. Microstructure and thermo-mechanical properties were also assessed, showing similar hardness, toughness, flexural strength and glass transition temperature values, and in the same range as other aluminosilicate glasses. Compositional and structural characterization in terms of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) allowed us to determine the origin of optical transmission dependence on the fabrication atmosphere.