Tellurite glass can be used to manufacture a variety of optical components, such as infrared cutoff filters, infrared windows, laser media, etc., which are applied in sensors, detectors, lasers, night vision devices, optical instruments, optical communications, and other fields.

Tellurite glass is an infrared transmitting glass with tellurium dioxide (TeO2) as the main component, which has superior optical properties and belongs to one type of infrared glass.

According to the "In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Recommendation Report on the Tellurite Glass Industry from 2024 to 2028" released by Sinotrust Industry Research Institute, tellurite glass features good transparency, high refractive index, excellent infrared transmission performance with a wide transmission range, superior ultraviolet absorption cutoff performance, low phonon energy, high dielectric constant, high chemical stability, and low melting temperature. It is an ideal infrared window material and a potential nonlinear optical glass material.

Tellurite glass can be used to manufacture various optical components, such as infrared cutoff filters, infrared windows, and laser media, which are applied in sensors, detectors, lasers, night vision devices, optical instruments, optical communications, and other fields. For example, in the field of infrared detectors, tellurite glass can be used as an infrared window material to maximize the transmission of infrared light and avoid interference from light of other wavelengths, enabling the detector to sensitively detect infrared light.

The preparation process of tellurite glass is basically the same as that of other infrared glasses, mainly involving screening raw materials, grinding the ingredients into a fine powder and mixing them uniformly, melting the mixture in a crucible at high temperatures until the raw materials are completely molten, and naturally cooling to room temperature.

It is difficult to prepare tellurite glass by melting tellurium dioxide (TeO2) alone, and oxides or halides need to be added to improve glass stability. Typically, tellurium dioxide and niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) are used as the main components for preparation. Other oxides can also be added as required. Tellurite niobium zinc glass is one of the common products, with tellurium dioxide, niobium pentoxide, and zinc oxide (ZnO) as its main components.

Tellurite glass can be doped with rare earth elements to further improve its performance. Different rare earth ions have varying effects on the properties of tellurite glass. For example, doping with Er3+ enhances the spectral properties of tellurite glass; co-doping with Er3+ and Yb3+ optimizes the absorption and fluorescence spectral properties of tellurite glass; co-doping with Er3+ and Tm3+ improves the ultra-broadband mid-to-near-infrared luminescence properties of tellurite glass; co-doping with Tm3+ and Ho3+ gives tellurite glass excellent 2μm fluorescence properties; and co-doping with Er3+/Yb3+/Tm3+ significantly broadens the conventional fluorescence spectrum region of tellurite glass.

Industry analysts at Sinotrust indicate that China's research in the field of tellurite glass continues to deepen, with a growing number of relevant patents. Examples include "Tellurite Glass and Its Preparation Method" and "Silver Nano-doped Tellurite Glass and Its Preparation Method" from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; "A High Refractive Index Tellurite Glass and Its Preparation Method" from Northern University of Technology; "A Tellurite Glass Fiber and Its Preparation Method" from Jilin Normal University; "A Backward-Pumped Raman Fiber Amplifier Based on Tellurite Glass Fiber" from Xi'an University of Posts and Telecommunications; and "A Tellurite Glass Based on Fluorescence Intensity Ratio, Temperature Sensing System, and Its Fabrication Method" from Northeastern University.