Colorless transparent fluorescence material: Sintered porous glass containing rare-earth and transition-metal ions

Transparent fluorescence oxide glass with high emission yields has been prepared. Porous glass was impregnated with rare-earth and transition-metal ions and consequently sintered at 1100 degrees C into a compact nonporous glass. Reduction sintering is indispensable for obtaining fluorescence glass with high emission yield. Sintering of glass impregnated with Eu ions in a reducing atmosphere enhances the emission intensity by about 15 times than that sintered in air. The Eu2+ and Ce3+ ions and Sn2+ and Cu+ ions incorporated in SiO2 glass obtained by reduction sintering exhibit intense fluorescence in the near-ultraviolet and visible ranges, their emission yields are 97%, 70%, 100%, and 90%, respectively. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.