The glass forming range of Er2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 system was explored, and the effect of the content of Al2O3 and Er2O3 on glass-forming region was experimentally examined. It is shown that the region of glass formation range expends when the content of Al2O3 is changed from 15% to 20%, while it shrinks when the content of Al2O3 is changed from 20% to 30%. At the same time, the glass forming ability of Er2O3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 system was also discussed using a value of beta,which is an indication of crystallization tendency of glasses, calculated from thermo-analysis data. It is found that the glass forming ability of Er2O3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glasses is poor, while the glasses network may be enhanced when Al2O3 is added to the system, the glass forming ability being heightened. In addition, the crystallization temperatures of the rare earth glasses were determined using differential thermal analysis technique. The Er2O3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glass samples were heat treated at 1000, 1100 and 1260degreesC respectively. The results show that it is the Er2O3 phase that separates out from the glasses after crystaline heat treatment, and it is tiered up in glasses, as detected through XRD and SEM. This indicated that the phase separation occurs when the glasses are heated, Er3+ being mainly distributed in the boron rich phase, then separated out from glasses, while the silicate rich phase remaining glassy state.
