Transparent glass-ceramics (GCs) own interesting optical properties for several photonic applications. The melt-quenching (MQ) method is routinely used to prepare OxGCs but the high melting temperatures (1400-1700°C) greatly affect the fluoride content. Thus, the sol-gel (SG) route appears as a promising alternative to prepare OxFGC films and bulk materials with a much higher active crystal phase content and sintered at much lower temperature than that MQ. LaF3, GdF3 and NaGdF4 nanocrystals are precipitated in pure silica matrices containing up to 30% of active phase with noteworthy optical properties. An alternative procedure to obtain glass-ceramics are being considered based in the preparation of nano-crystalline suspensions and their subsequent dispersion in a sol-gel matrix.

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  • G. Gorni; R. Baldas; J. J. Fernandez; J. Velázquez; L. Pascual; J. Mosa; A. Durán; Y. Castro. 80SiO2-20LaF3 oxyfluoride glass ceramic coatings doped with Nd3+ for optical applications. International Journal of Applied Glass Science, 9 – 2 (2018) 208 – 217.

  • G Gorni; M.J. Pascual; A. Caballero; J.J. Velázquez; J. Mosa; Y. Castro; A. Durán. Crystallization mechanism in sol-gel oxyfluoride glass-ceramics. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 501, (2018) 145 – 152.

  • G. Gorni; J.J. Velázquez; J. Mosa; R. Balda; J. Velázquez; A. Durán; Y. Castro. Transparent Glass-Ceramics Produced by Sol-Gel: A Suitable Alternative for Photonic Materials. Materials (Basel). 11 – 2, (2018) 212.

  • A. Gómez-Varela; Y. Castro; A. Durán; P. A. A. De Beule; M. T Flores-Arias; C. Bao-Varela. Synthesis and characterization of erbium-doped SiO2-TiO2 thin films prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating techniques onto commercial glass substrates as a route for obtaining active GRadient-INdex materials. Thin Solid Films. 583 (2015) 115 – 121.