Glasses in the system ZrF4–BaF2–BiF3: Thermal and spectroscopic properties

Abstract The glasses in the ZrF 4 –BiF 3 –BaF 2 system with different content of bismuth trifluoride have been investigated. The trends of the decrease of glass transition and crystallization temperatures along with the increase of the BiF 3 content in glass, the presence of more than one crystallization peak and composition of crystalline phases in glasses have been revealed. All the studied glasses of the fluorozirconate series have nanosized heterogeneities of virtually the same scale. The crystallization process depends on the bismuth trifluoride content in glass. The contribution of photoluminescence of bismuth with transition emission 540 nm was found for the glass doped with 1% Bi.