Characterization of the glass-to-vitroceramic transition in yttrium aluminum borate laser glasses using solid state NMR.

The crystallization of laser glasses in the system (Y(2)O(3))(0.2){((Al(2)O(3))(x))(B(2)O(3))(0.8-x)} (0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.40) doped with 0.5 mol% of ytterbium oxide has been investigated by x-ray powder diffraction, and various solid state NMR techniques. The crystallization process has been analyzed in a quantitative fashion by high-resolution solid state (11)B, (27)Al, and (89)Y NMR spectroscopy as well as (11)B{(27)Al} and (27)Al{(11)B} rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) experiments. The homogeneous glasses undergo major phase segregation processes resulting in crystalline Al(5)BO(9) (historically denoted as Al(18)B(4)O(33)), YBO(3), crystalline YAl(3)(BO(3))(4), residual glassy B(2)O(3), and an additional yet not identified crystalline phase ("X-phase").