Advanced Transparent Glass-Ceramics via Laser Anisotropic Nanocrystallization

Abstract

Transparent glass-ceramics, merging the attributes of both glass and ceramics, have diverse applications in ballistic protection, armor materials, dentistry, light-emitting diode, and optical domains. A limitation of conventional methods for glass-ceramic fabrication is their inadequacy in precisely controlling the morphology of crystallization, consequently constraining their prospective advancements in diverse areas. Here, a method that facilitates precise control over the formation and growth of polarization-dependent nonperiodic anisotropic nanocrystals, with a short axis ranging from 15 to 280 nm, in Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 (LAS) glass is proposed. The method utilizes the principles of near-field anisotropy between light and matter, building upon the classical nucleation-growth model of glass crystallization. Notably, the glass-ceramics possessing laser-induced nanocrystals within the Rayleigh size regime showcase an impressive 99.7% transmittance in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Additionally, the glass-ceramics with non-periodic anisotropic nanocrystals macroscopically exhibit form-birefringence properties, thus enabling transparent optical applications, such as polarization elements, geometric phase elements, and multi-dimensional optical data storage. This work opens up new avenues for morphological manipulation of nanocrystallization, with potential applications in optics, nanophotonics, functional glass-ceramics, and high mechanical performance devices.