What is claimed is:
1. A Faraday rotator glass comprising:
(a) at least one member selected from the group consisting of fluoride glass, and fluorophosphate glass, wherein said glass is doped with
(b) at least one lanthanide constituent selected from the group consisting of Ce, Pr and Tm in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region;
(c) at least one monovalent non-lanthanide cation selected from the group consisting of Na, Li and K in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region;
(d) at least one divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cation selected from the group consisting of Mg, Be, Ca and Al in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region; and
(e) 10 to 90 mole percent oxygen.
2. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is sufficient to provide surface flatness of at least 1/10 of a wavelength at 632.8 nm.
3. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 0.0001 to 25 mole percent.
4. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 0.5 to 20 mole percent.
5. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 0.1 to 15 mole percent.
6. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 1.5 to 10 mole percent.
7. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 0.01 to 50 mole percent; the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 0.01 to 50 mole percent; and provided that the total non-lanthanide cation concentration is less than 65 mole percent.
8. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 1 to 40 mole percent; the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 1 to 40 mole percent; and provided that the total non-lanthanide cation concentration is less than 65 mole percent.
9. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 2 to 30 mole percent and the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 2 to 30 mole percent.
10. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent and the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent.
11. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 1.5 to 20 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent and wherein the concentration of oxygen is from 35 to 75 mole percent.
12. A Faraday rotator glass according to claim 1 wherein said member is fluorophosphate glass.
13. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 12 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 1.5 to 20 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said non-lanthanide monovalent cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, and wherein the concentration of oxygen is from 35 to 75 mole percent.
14. A Faraday rotator glass consisting essentially of:
(a) phosphate glass, wherein said glass is doped with
(b) at least one lanthanide constituent selected from the group consisting of Ce, Pr and Tm in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region;
(c) at least one monovalent non-lanthanide cation selected from the group consisting of Na, Li and K in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region;
(d) at least one divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cation selected from the group consisting of Mg, Be, Ca and Al in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region; and
(e) 10 to 90 mole percent O.
15. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 14 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 1.5 to 20 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, wherein the concentration of oxygen is from 35 to 75 mole percent, and wherein provided that the total mole percentage does not exceed 100 mole percent.
16. A Faraday rotator glass according to claim 14 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide cation is about 2.0 mole percent Pr, the concentration of the alkali is about 5.9 mole percent Na, the concentration of the alkali earth metal is about 5.0 mole percent Mg, the concentration of phosphorous from said phosphate is about 21.8 mole percent P and the concentration of said oxygen is about 65.3 mole percent O.
17. A Faraday rotator glass comprising:
(a) a fluoride glass;
(b) at least one lanthanide constituent selected from the group consisting of Ce, Pr and Tm in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region;
(c) at least one monovalent non-lanthanide cation selected from the group consisting of Na, Li and K in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region;
(d) at least one divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cation selected from the group consisting of Mg, Be, Ca and Al in a concentration sufficient to provide a Verdet constant of at least 2870 degree/Tesla-meter and optical transmission of at least 50 percent in a 25 mm thick polished glass sample at least at one wavelength in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region; and
(e) 10 to 90 mole percent oxygen.
18. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 17 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 1.5 to 20 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said monovalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, wherein the concentration of said divalent or trivalent non-lanthanide cations is from 3 to 25 mole percent, and wherein the concentration of oxygen is from 35 to 75 mole percent.
19. The Faraday rotator glass of claim 18 wherein the concentration of said lanthanide constituent is from 1.5 to 15 mole percent.