Provided is a small-diameter chalcogenide glass material having excellent weather resistance and mechanical strength and being suitable as an optical element for an infrared sensor. The chalcogenide glass material has an unpolished side surface, a pillar shape with a diameter of 15 mm or less, and a composition of, in terms of % by mole, 40 to 90% S+Se+Te and an inside of the glass material is free of stria with a length of 500 m or more.

Systems and methods according to one or more embodiments are provided for annealing a chalcogenide lens at an elevated temperature to accelerate release of internal stress within the chalcogenide lens caused during a molding process that formed the chalcogenide lens. In particular, the annealing process includes gradually heating the chalcogenide lens to a dwell temperature, maintaining the chalcogenide lens at the dwell temperature for a predetermined period of time, and gradually cooling the chalcogenide lens from the dwell temperature. The annealing process stabilizes the shape, the effective focal length, and/or the modulation transfer function of the chalcogenide lens. Associated optical assemblies and infrared imaging devices are also described.

An optical nanocomposite containing optically active crystals (rare earth or transition metal doped) in a suitably index-, dispersion-, thermo-optically matched matrix enables creation of a glass ceramic with unique optical properties. By further tuning the viscosity of the composite, it can be drawn into fiber form, dissolved into solution and subsequently deposited as a thin film, or used as a bulk optical component. Critical to achieving a viable material is closely matching the attributes needed to not only achieve optical function but to enable fabrication under elevated temperatures (i.e., during fiber drawing) or in unique chemical or thermal environments, such as during deposition as a thin film. This invention uses nanosized crystalline powders (nanocrystalsNC), blended with multicomponent chalcogenide glass (ChG) to form an optical nanocomposite. The blended NC:glass integrates compositional tailoring to enable matching of optical properties (index, dispersion, dn/dT), specialized dispersion methods to ensure homogeneous physical dispersion of NCs within the glass matrix during preparation, while minimizing agglomeration and mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion. The latter attributes are critical to maintaining low loss (optical scatter) and induced stress birefringence due to mismatch between the NC and glass' parent properties. By tailoring the base glass composition's viscosity versus temperature profile, the resulting bulk nanocomposite can be further formed to create an optical fiber, while maintaining physical dispersion on NCs, avoiding segregation of the NCs. This enables low loss conditions suitable for lasing within the material.

The invention relates to Cr.sup.2+:ZnSe core optical fibers and methods of fabricating thereof, including a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition reaction. The invention relates also to Cr.sup.2+:ZnSe optical fiber lasers, in particular to a crystalline semiconductor optical fiber laser.

Disclosed herein are methods for producing glass articles by hot-melt processing techniques. The methods involve the use of arsenic-free chalcogenide glasses. Despite the absence of arsenic, the chalcogenide glasses have low characteristic temperatures and are stable against crystallization. The low characteristic temperatures render the glasses capable of being hot-melt processed using conventional equipment. The glasses disclosed herein are suitable for the fabrication of optical devices, including but not limited to IR-transmitting optical devices.

A solid state electrolyte including an oxy-sulfide glass or glass ceramic, solid state electrolyte layer having a thickness in the range of ten micrometers to two hundred micrometers is provide. The composition of the electrolyte layer is the reaction product of a mixture initially including either a glass former including sulfur or a glass co-former including sulfur, and a glass modifier including Li.sub.2O or Na.sub.2O. The solid-state electrolyte layer is further characterized as having a wholly amorphous microstructure or as having small recrystallized regions separated from each other in an amorphous matrix, the recrystallized regions having a size of up to five micrometers. The solid-state electrolyte layer includes mobile lithium ions or mobile sodium ions associated with sulfur anions chemically anchored in the microstructure.

A method for producing a solid electrolyte for an all-solid state battery, the solid electrolyte having the following chemical formula XM.sub.2(PS.sub.4).sub.3, where X is lithium (Li), sodium (Na), silver (Ag) or magnesium (Mg.sub.0,5) and M is titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), germanium (Ge), silicon (Si), tin (Sn) or a mixture of X and aluminium (X+Al) and the method including: mixing powders so as to obtain a powder mixture; pressing a component with powder mixture; and sintering component for a period of time equal to or greater than 100 hours so as to obtain the solid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte exhibits the peaks in positions of 2?=13.64? (?1?), 13.76? (?1?), 14.72? (?1?), 15.36? (?1?), 15.90? (?1?), 16.48? (?1?), 17.42? (?1?), 17.56? (?1?), 18.58? (?1?), and 22.18? (?1?) in a X-ray diffraction measurement using CuK? line. The disclosure is also related to a method of producing a solid electrolyte.

The present disclosure relates to a chalcogenide glass composition and a lens including a molded article of the same, which are capable of guaranteeing excellent refractive index, Vickers hardness, and price competitiveness without including an element such as arsenic harmful to the human body.

A quantum memory system includes a chalcogenide optical fiber link, a magnetic field generation unit and a pump laser. The chalcogenide optical fiber link includes a photon receiving end opposite a photon output end and is positioned within a magnetic field of the magnetic field generation unit when the magnetic field generation unit generates the magnetic field. The pump laser is optically coupled to the photon receiving end of the chalcogenide optical fiber link. The chalcogenide optical fiber link includes a core doped with a rare-earth element dopant. The rare-earth element dopant is configured to absorb a storage photon traversing the chalcogenide optical fiber link upon receipt of a first pump pulse output by the pump laser. Further, the rare-earth element dopant is configured to release the storage photon upon receipt of a second pump pulse output by the pump laser.

Disclosed herein are seals for liquid-tight bonding of an optical window comprising a BiIn alloy. Also disclosed are optical cells comprising the BiIn alloy seals to provide a liquid-tight seal between a cell housing and a drilled optical window.