to make a transparent ceramic-based product interesting. The optical transmission property has to be accompanied by other favorable functional properties. The nature of these properties depends on the specific application. For instance, hardness and stiffness are critical properties for use as armored windows; ferroelectric properties count the most for antiglare goggles; a high refractive index coupled with a low optical dispersion are important for lenses. For all transparent ceramics, high resistance to ambient chemical aggressive agents is a fundamental requirement. A transparent ceramic suitability to a destined application is expressed using figures of merit, which take into account a weighted assessment of all relevant properties.
In many cases besides performance, the practical value of a transparent ceramic is strongly affected by the availability of suitable geometric dimensions and/or shapes. For instance, for armor applications, fabrication technology is fully developed for plates, 30–100 cm wide (sometimes exhibiting some curvature). For missile IR sensors, dome or cone-shaped protective noses are needed. Certain laser applications require a thin chip, or fiber geometry.
1.2.2 Fabrication and Characterization Costs
Designed transparent ceramic samples are always in competition with other transparent materials, like glasses or single crystals. A transparent ceramic may become commercially relevant only if in addition to technical performance, it also makes sense economically, namely, it can be manufactured at a competitive cost. For example, spinel MgAl2O4-based transparent armor strike-faces of large size can now be fabricated, exhibiting excellent performance; however, their price is still prohibitive, leaving most of the market to all-glass or glass + glass-ceramic offers. Processing costs are usually the determinant factor, but in some cases characterization costs also need consideration. The relative weight of these two aspects varies among different applications and may also change over time.
1.2.3 Overview of Worth
Transparent ceramics may thus exhibit benefit in two ways. One relates to cases where they provide improved functional abilities. Second relates to (still very few) cases where they provide lower manufacturing cost compared to manufacturing of other competing transparent solids. A best situation is of course when both advantages exist simultaneously. In our view, some transparent ceramics have the potential to achieve this desired goal. In this context, we venture to point out items like phosphors and scintillators, laser gain media, armor (heavy-duty industrial equipment) and IR windows.
1.3 Spectral Domain for Ceramics High Transmission Targeted in This Book
1.3.1 High Transmission Spectral Domain
Many natural or human-caused physical processes are accompanied by emission or absorption of electromagnetic waves, carrying different amounts of energy and particularly exhibiting different wavelengths or frequencies. The said wavelength range is named electromagnetic radiation spectrum.
Let us recall that the energy Eph of an electromagnetic wave quantum (photon) is proportional to its frequency ν or to the inverse of its free-space wavelength λ:
(1.1)
where c = λν is the free space speed of light constant and h is Planck constant. The latter are universal constants: c = 2.9979 × 108 m/s and h = 6.626 × 10−34 J s. The wavelength reciprocal
Gamma ray wavelengths range between approximately 1 and 10 Å, while, say, radio waves, may reach and exceed 103 m. Here we cite several examples. A natural process emitting gamma (γ) rays is the decay of excited atomic nuclei and deceleration of charged particles during impacting other particles. X-rays appear, for example, when energetic electrons bombard atoms (this process involves initial ejection of bound electrons, then filling the remaining empty atomic state by an external electron). Particles collision may also involve X-ray emission. Solar activity is a daily source of electromagnetic radiation emission, with frequencies ranging in the ultraviolet (UV), VIS, and IR. Fuel combustion (namely, fast, mainly carbon oxidation) generates mostly near-infrared (NIR) radiation. Electrical currents, based mostly on negative charge movement inside electrical conductors, are used in devices like radio broadcasting or telecommunication systems, which generate electromagnetic radiation in the range of so-called radio waves. Part of the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) generated by the sources described above and others travels around us. A lot of devices need various amounts and spectral segments of this radiation. The transparent ceramics` mission is to select the spectral segment and intensity of the EMR entering some of these devices; they can do this for different spectral segments; the one of interest in this book will be specified below.
When an incident electromagnetic wave (light) hits the surface of a macroscopic solid, it may undergo several processes, classified as reflection, absorption, scattering, and transmission (a part of absorbed light may be re-emitted). The ratios among the said process intensities depend on the physical characteristics of the solid.
Various technological applications require the use of solids that are transmissive to electromagnetic radiation over different segments of the spectrum. For instance, X-ray windows favor low atomic number Z solids; carbon, in the form of a graphite plate, is a reasonable solution. Ceramics often transmit variable fractions of incident electromagnetic radiation in different spectral sections; in other sections they may absorb massively. For instance, beryllium oxide BeO is highly transmissive in the microwave region; thus BeO-based ceramic samples are used for windows there.
This book will not consider all spectral ranges where ceramics exhibit transparency. It focuses on the 0.1 to ∼25 μm range, namely, from the near-ultraviolet(NUV) to the mid-infrared(MIR), that is often addressed as optical region. Electromagnetic radiation in that range is simply addressed as light. The frequency/wavelength range in which a specific material is actually transmissive is termed transparency/transmission window. This means that only ceramics exhibiting significant transmissivity in portions of the range defined above will be considered. Figure 1.2 illustrates transmission windows offered by several already commercially available ceramics; for comparison, the transmission spectra of two popular oxide glasses is also shown (wider transparency glass windows also do exist).
Figure 1.1 Overall wavelength range of the spectrum of EMR (domain to which human eye is sensitive, the VIS, is enlarged in the lower part of the figure).
Source: Reproduced from Shutterstock Images with purchased permission.
The earth atmosphere
