Thermal Stability of ZnO/Tm2O3 Substitution on Tellurite-Zinc-Bismuth-Sodium (TZBN) Glasses

Tm2O3 doped tellurite-zinc-bismuth-sodium (TZBN) glass samples with varying compositions were prepared through melt quenching technique. The composition of these glass was 60 TeO2 - (30-x) ZnO - 5 Bi2O3 - 5 Na2O - x Tm2O3 with (x = 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0 and 2.5 mol%). We reported the result of a systematic study of the thermal properties of these glass by using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The thermal characteristics of these glass (glass transition, Tg, crystallization, Tc, and melting, Tm) increased significantly with Tm2O3 content and the glasses were more thermally stable (greater ΔT=Tc-Tg). The glass transition value slightly increased from 314 to 323 °C otherwise thermal stability ΔT changed from 112 to 131°C. The ratio of Tg/Tm values for TZBN doped Thulium glasses were about 0.558 to 0.589, indicated that these glasses possess good thermal stability. The Hruby parameter (Kg) with Tm3+ doped in this study improved glass-forming ability, which is desirable for various applications such as optical fibers drawing and sensors.