Russian scientists have come up with an optical luminescent glass that emits visible light under ultraviolet radiation. That type of glass which was produced at 1500 °С, can find applications in the solar energetics and LED (light emitting diodes) production, Physicists from the University of Informational Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics (ITMO) said.
In the study, that was published in the Journal of Luminescence, scientists suggested utilizing the newly-introduced glass for durable LED fabrication.
According to them, such LEDs do not require yellow luminophore coating used in modern LED devices for white light production. Therefore, there is no need to renovate the lamp coating, the diodes will be cheaper and can operate within a longer time period.
So how would the glass emit light under ultraviolet radiation?
- In order to do so, the Russian News agency TASS, mentions that it necessary to introduce silver ions in the glass
- The glass is immersed in a molten silver salt at 320o Celsius, and the silver ions become embedded into the glass replacing sodium ions.
- The same technology of ion exchange is widely used to manufacture toughened glass for smartphones (e.g. Gorilla Glass) or for the strengthening of champagne bottles. But instead of silver, these applications rely on potassium ions.
