Low temperature joining of phosphate glass
First Claim
1. A glass composite comprising:
- a first phosphate glass surface;
a second phosphate glass surface; and
between and in contact with both of said surfaces, a phosphorus-containing solution which is liquid at room temperature.
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Abstract
A method for the low temperature joining of similar and/or different phosphate glass by mating at low temperature glass components by an aqueous solution containing phosphorus. In preferred embodiments, the phosphate glasses are polished, cleaned, and brought together with the phosphate-containing solution between the polished surfaces. Vacuum may be applied to assist in making the joint. The composite is optionally heat treated to increase strength, chemical durability, and optical performance. The bond thereby formed has low birefringence, is strong, and is virtually photonically invisible. The joints now make possible, for example, substrates for virtually no loss signal splitters and other high-end optical components at low cost. Large hybrid performs substrates composed of multiple glass components may be prepared and segmented, providing an inexpensive novel substrate for the photonics industry. Active lasing phosphate glasses may be joined by the present invention method to passive non-lasing glasses for use in laser and related applications.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A glass composite comprising:
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a first phosphate glass surface;
a second phosphate glass surface; and
between and in contact with both of said surfaces, a phosphorus-containing solution which is liquid at room temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 35, 36)
water in an amount of from about 15-99.9 weight %, phosphorus in an amount equivalent to about 0.1-85 weight % P2O5.
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13. A glass composite as claimed in claim 11, wherein the solution comprises
water in an amount of from about 50-90 weight %, phosphorus in an amount equivalent to about 5-35 weight % P2O5 Na2O in a amount of from about 1-20 weight %, K2O in an amount of from about 1-20 weight %, Al2O3 in an amount of from about 0-5 weight %, and SiO2 in an amount of from about 0-15 weight %. -
14. A glass composite as claimed in claim 11, wherein the solution comprises
water in an amount of from about 70-90 weight %, phosphorus in an amount equivalent to about 10-30 weight % P2O5 Na2O in a amount of from about 1-20 weight %, and SiO2 in an amount of from about 0-8 weight %. -
35. A composite of claim 1, wherein said phosphorus-containing solution consists essentially of an aqueous solution.
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36. A composite of claim 1, wherein said phosphorus-containing solution consists of an aqueous solution.
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3. A glass composite comprising:
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a first phosphate glass surface;
a second phosphate glass surface; and
between and in contact with said surfaces, a phosphorus-containing solution which is an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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15. A glass composite comprising:
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a first phosphate glass interface;
a second phosphate glass interface; and
between and in contact with both of said interfaces, a layer comprising a cured phosphorus containing solution which was liquid at room temperature.
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16. A glass composite comprising:
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a first phosphate glass interface;
a second phosphate glass interface; and
between and in contact with both of said interfaces, a condensed phosphate layer that links the two interfaces and was formed from a phosphorous containing solution which was liquid at room temperature. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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- 18. A glass composite prepared by joining two phosphate glass substrates together by curing therebetween, and in contact with both of said substrates, a phosphorus-containing aqueous solution.
- 19. A method of bonding two phosphate glass surfaces comprising curing therebetween, and in contact with both of said surfaces, a phosphorus-containing aqueous solution.
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31. In a photonic device comprising a phosphate glass component, the improvement wherein said phosphate glass component is a glass composite comprising:
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a first phosphate glass surface;
a second phosphate glass surface; and
between and in contact with said surfaces, a phosphorus-containing solution, which is an aqueous solution, and wherein said aqueous solution has been cured. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
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Specification