Nucleation kinetic studies of a europium-doped aluminosilicate glass: Low-frequency inelastic scattering and fluorescence line narrowing

Abstract

An investigation of low-frequency inelastic scattering and fluorescence line narrowing has revealed the role of ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$ in the nucleation process. Analysis of the results has shown that the ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$ accelerates nucleation; however, it is not incorporated into the microcrystalline phase. Polarization studies have shown that the nucleating agents ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$ and ${\mathrm{Cr}}^{3+}$ modify the size of the microcrystallites and the symmetry of the vibrational eigenmodes. The results show that the vibrational eigenmodes for the ${\mathrm{Cr}}^{3+}$-doped glass are mainly breathing modes, whereas for the ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$-doped and undoped glass they are spheroidal and/or torsional modes.