Incorporation of LiNbO3 crystals into tellurite glasses

Transparent tellurite glasses containing 5-10 mu m diameter LiNbO3 crystals (3-7 wt %) have been successfully prepared using an incorporation method in which LiNbO3 crystals are directly dispersed into the 80TeO(2)-15Li(2)O-5Nb(2)O(5) glass. The dissolution behaviour of the LiNbO3 crystals greatly depends on the Li2O:Nb2O5 ratio in the matrix glasses. In the 80TeO(2)-10Li(2)O-10Nb(2)O(5) matrix glass, the crystals remaining after incorporation have the corn position LiNb3O8. A small difference in the refractive indices, n, between the TeO2-based glasses (n=2.07) and the incorporated LiNbO3 crystals (n=2.296) is a significant reason for the transparency. It is feasible to prepare the highly transparent TeO2-based glasses containing a large amount of LiNbO3 crystals by controlling the incorporation process.