Synthesis, structural, thermal and optical properties of TeO 2 –Bi 2 O 3 –GeO 2 –Li 2 O glasses

Abstract In this study, synthesis and characterization of novel quaternary tellurite glass system TeO 2 –Bi 2 O 3 –GeO 2 –Li 2 O is presented. The compositions include TeO 2 and GeO 2 as glass formers while different proportion of Bi 2 O 3 and Li 2 O act as network modifiers. Differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, UV–Vis and Raman spectroscopy are applied to study the structural, thermal and optical properties of the studied glasses. Obtained glasses possess a relatively low glass transition temperature (around 300 °C) if compared to other tellurite glasses, show good thermal transparency in the visible and near infra-red (from 2.4 to 0.4 μm) and can double the frequency of laser light from its original wavelength of 1064 nm to its second-harmonic at 532 nm (i.e. second harmonic generation).