Study on glass forming region of Al2O3-CaO-SrO system for novel infrared glass and 2.7 μm emission properties of Er3+ dopant

Glass forming regions of Al 2 O 3 -CaO-SrO (AlCaSr) system were systematically studied and clearly depicted by a combination of thermodynamic calculation method and traditional melt-quenching experiments. The glass forming region was first found with a composition range of Al 2 O 3 : 12–32 mol%, CaO: 43–68 mol%, and SrO: 20–36 mol%. Moreover, two representative glass compositions, 26.6Al 2 O 3 -49.4CaO-24SrO (AlCaSr-1) and 17.48Al 2 O 3 -58.52CaO-24SrO (AlCaSr-2), in central part of the experimental glass forming region and the corresponding glass doped with 1 mol% Er 2 O 3 , i.e., AlCaSr-1-Er and AlCaSr-2-Er, were selected and carefully prepared in our lab. Detailed investigations proved that the AlCaSr glasses had excellent comprehensive properties with high T g temperature (∼ 800 °C), wide transparency wavelength range (0.3–6 μm), and low maximum phonon energy (∼ 770 cm −1 ), and good 2.7 μm mid-infrared emitting properties via doping Er 3+ activators. These results highlight the potential application of AlCaSr glasses as infrared materials, and could benefit the development of high-performance infrared glasses.