Characterization of ZBGAN glasses

The physical and electrical properties of a ZrF4-BaF2-GdF3-AIF3-NaF (ZBGAN) glass have been studied. The addition of NaF increases the glass-forming ability of the base composition glass yet does not degrade the optical characteristics. The viscosity decreased with increasing NaF, suggesting that the increased glass-forming ability was due to the confusion principle. The electrical conductivity decreased with increasing NaF for low temperatures but increased at higher temperatures. The activation energy showed an increase with increasing NaF. The data suggest that the conductivity is not due to the total fluorine ion concentration.