NANOSTRUCTURED PHASES IN BISMUTHATE VITREOUS SYSTEMS CONTAINING RARE EARTH IONS

E.Culea1, I.Bratu2, M.Bogdan2, I.Vida-Simiti1, L.Pop1, M.Bosca1

1Technical University, C.Daicoviciu st. no. 15, Cluj-Napoca, 400020, Romania
2National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Donath st. 103, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

The study of vitreous bismuthate systems containing rare earth ions is important due to their potential applications in telecommunications [1]. The present study deals with the xR2O3(1-x)(Bi2O3.B2O3) and xR2O3(1-x)(Bi2O3.PbO) glasses, where R=Gd, Eu and Nd and x≤0.20.
The mentioned systems were investigated by magnetic susceptibility measurements and electron microscopy. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility show a Curie-Weiss behaviour for the samples. This behaviour is characteristic for oxidic glasses containing rare earth ions [2]. For low rare earth oxide content of the samples the values of the paramagnetic Curie temperatures, p, was zero. Increasing the rare earth oxide content of the samples increases the values of the paramagnetic Curie temperatures suggesting the clusterization of the magnetic rare earth ions. For the highest p values the electron microscopic data evidentiate the generation of nanostructured phases in the glass matrices.

References:
1. Pan A., Ghosh A., A new family of lead-bismuthate glasses with large transmitting window, J.Non-Cryst.Solids, 271, p.157-161, 2000.
2. Culea E, Pop L., Simon S., Culea M., Magnetic and structural behaviour of xEu2O3(1-x)(3Bi2O3.PbO) glasses, J.Magn.Magnetic Materials 290-291, p.1465-1468, 2005.