Influence of Initial Conditions on Optical Characteristics of Cu Ion-exchanged Glasses

In the present article, we report the results of a study of the optical and spectroscopic properties of Cu ion-exchanged glasses. The well-known ion-exchange method is used and developed for the specific present work. A soda-lime glass plate is doped ionic copper nanoparticles. It is found that the initial temperature and the specific combinations of the glass substrates have essential roles in the physical properties of the produced doped glasses. Therefore, we made two different types of copper-ion-exchanged glasses: green and red colored ones. Each type has its unique optical and spectroscopic properties due to the initial conditions of the ion-exchange process. Using absorption spectroscopy, and surface plasmon resonance studies, we can conclude that the different initial temperature of the samples in the ion-exchange procedure crucially influences the color of the samples, their characteristic index of refraction, photoluminescence, and the reflection spectra. The color of the samples is related to the type and shape of the ionic Cu-clusters, formed in the glass matrix.