A vehicle glazing includes, in a peripheral zone, a traversing hole including an insert made of a material having a crystalline structure which is transparent in a range A of wavelengths in the infrared spectrum of at least from 9.5 μm to 10.5μm and the material of the insert is transparent in the visible region at a reference wavelength of between 500 nm and 600 nm.

A sulfide glass solid electrolyte sheet can be protected from reaction with moisture by a thin metal layer coating converted to a thin electrochemically functional and protective compound layer. The converted protective compound layer is electrochemically functional in that it allows for through transport of lithium ions.

A pseudo-reference electrode comprising a pseudo-reference glass material backed by a silver conductor comprising silver metal, wherein the pseudo-reference glass material is a chalcogenide glass comprising a silver chalcogenide Ag2Ch, wherein Ch denotes a chalcogen, or a halide glass comprising a silver halide and at least one glass-forming oxide of a metal or a metalloid, a mixture of two or more of these glasses, or a composite of at least one of these glasses. This pseudo-reference electrode can be used in ion-selective electrode (ISE) sensors and ion-selective field effect transistors (ISFETs).

A standalone lithium ion-conductive solid electrolyte including a freestanding inorganic vitreous sheet of sulfide-based lithium ion conducting glass is capable of high performance in a lithium metal battery by providing a high degree of lithium ion conductivity while being highly resistant to the initiation and/or propagation of lithium dendrites. Such an electrolyte is also itself manufacturable, and readily adaptable for battery cell and cell component manufacture, in a cost-effective, scalable manner.

Provided is a chalcogenide glass material having excellent weather resistance and being suitable as an optical element for an infrared sensor. The chalcogenide glass material contains, in terms of % by mole, 20 to 99% Te and has an antireflection film formed thereon.

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.

Gradient refractive index (GRIN) materials can include multi-phase composites having substances with differing refractive indices disposed non-uniformly within one another. Particular glass composites having a gradient index of refraction can include: an amorphous phase, and a phase-separated region disposed non-uniformly within the amorphous phase. The glass composites include a mixture containing: GeZ.sub.2 and A.sub.2Z.sub.3 in a combined molar ratio of about 60% to about 95%, and CsX and PbZ in a combined molar ratio of about 5% to about 40%, where A is As, Sb or Ga, X is Cl, Br or I, and Z is S or Se. When A is As, the glass composites include PbZ in a molar ratio of about 15% or less. The amorphous phase and the phase-separated region have refractive indices that differ from one another. More particularly, A is Ga or As, X is Cl, and Z is Se.

Methods of synthesizing particles and the resulting particles are disclosed. The methods include synthesizing the particles in the presence of one or more additives. The resulting particles are smaller and easier to disperse in solution. Also described are methods of processing particles and the resulting particles. In particular embodiments, the particles are suited for incorporation into films.

A method of fabricating a shaped optical element for refracting infrared light. The method can include providing a chalcogenide glass mass within a precision mold, the chalcogenide glass mass having a starting volume that is equal to or less than about 105% of the volume of the shaped optical element, precision molding the chalcogenide glass mass by providing heat and pressure to form the chalcogenide glass mass into a near-net shaped optical element, removing the near-net shaped optical element from the precision mold, and refining the near-net shaped optical element to generate the shaped optical element, the outside diameter of the near-net shaped optical element being less than or equal to 25 μm larger than an outside diameter of the shaped optical element. The near-net shaped optical element can have an outside diameter less than 20 μm greater than the outside diameter of the shaped optical element.

A method for producing a solid electrolyte, including: stirring a slurry including lithium sulfide and phosphorus sulfide in a hydrocarbon solvent in a reaction vessel, and circulating the slurry through a connecting pipe by a pump. The method is carried out in an apparatus including the reaction vessel and the connecting pipe connected to the pump and the reaction vessel.