EPR and optical study of copper diffusion layers produced by ion exchange in binary alkali-silicate glasses

Abstract EPR and optical spectra of glass plates doped with copper by thermal ion exchange diffusion are studied. Four different series of alkali-silicate glasses 20 M 2 O-80 SiO 2 , where MLi, Na, K or Na + K are investigated. The shapes of observed EPR spectra are considered to be a function of the concentration profiles of copper in the layer. It is shown, that for some types of the concentration profilesthe EPR spectra of Cu 2+ ions with well resolved hyperfine structure can be observed under optimal conditions of ion exchange. The parameters of spin Hamiltonian, obtained for the diffusion layers in sodium-silicate glasses agree well with those for bulk samples of the same composition, containing copper. It is concluded that the isolated Cu 2+ ions of the diffusion layer are in local environments nearly identical with those for Cu 2+ ions in bulk glasses of the same composition.