Effect of Heat Treatment Conditions on Microstructure and Infrared Transmission Property of Germanate Oxyfluoride Glass-Ceramics

Germanate oxyfluoride glass in CaF2/BaF2-AlF3-SiO2-GeO2 was prepared by melt quenching technique and subsequently converted to glass-ceramics with microstructures comprised nano-crystallites in a residual glass matrix by two-step heat treatments process. DSC, XRD, SEM and IR transmission investigations were used to determine structural characteristics and optical property of the prepared germanate oxyfluoride glass-ceramics. The influences of heat treatment conditions on crystallization behaviors and infrared transmission were discussed. The results show that crystal phase in the glass-ceramics is only Ge2Al6O13 and the crystal size is about 20nm-80nm when treated temperature ranges from 900 oC to 960oC. Good transparency is exhibited in visible light band to midinfrared band (5.0um) when treated temperature is low than 940 oC.