Inorganic glasses and their interactions with light

摘要

Glassmakers over millennia have developed the technology for producing a rainbow of colours in glass with the goal of producing a wide range of aesthetically pleasing artefacts. The last century has seen major strides in understanding the origins of these effects and in placing colour and its control on a firm scientific footing. More recently interest has focused on ways of using the interactions between light and glass, for example to produce the optical equivalent of electronic amplifiers, switches and integrated circuits, or to produce micro-engineered glass components. New optical effects have been discovered as new glass forming systems have been identified and with new production technologies such as the sol-gel techniques. The potential for continued development of coloured glasses seems enormous and is further enhanced by the possibilities generated by the use of coatings to modify optical behaviour, a subject not within the scope of this review.