A multi-disciplinary collaboration between the Physics Department at the University of North Dakota (UND) and the Ceramic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) will develop and characterize new rare earth (RE) phosphate glasses that possess interesting optical and magnetic properties which make these glasses candidates for high-energy lasers, optical- and magneto-optical sensors, and other applications. Preliminary structural studies indicate an unusual dependence of rare earth coordination environment on the glass composition, especially for glasses containing less than 25 mol% rare earth oxide. Changes in RE coordination environment of these glasses appear to have a significant effect on their physical and optical properties. However, the exact nature of the relationships between these properties and the atomic structure of these glasses is poorly understood. The researchers at UND will obtain detailed information about the atomic structure, especially the coordination environments of the RE ions, using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, high-energy X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques, and IR/Raman spectroscopy. The UND team will investigate the magnetic properties as well. The research team at UMR will prepare optically active glasses (including Nd- and Er-phosphate compositions) and glasses with potentially large magnetic susceptibilities (e.g., Dy-phosphate compositions) using techniques to minimize contamination by water and transition metals. Optical characteristics, including absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra and fluorescence lifetimes, will also be characterized at UMR.
As mentioned above, the new family of rare earth phosphate glasses mentioned above appear to be a potential candidate for important practical applications such as high-energy lasers, optical- and magneto-optical sensors. However, scientists and engineers planning to develop such applications need additional information on the atomic structure-property relationships of these glasses. The multi-disciplinary project described herein is designed to provide this important information. This project will bring together a group of science students/faculty from UND and a group of engineering students/faculty from UMR to work on a challenging research project. Such cross-disciplinary research opportunities are rare, especially at the student level, and quite beneficial to all researchers involved.
