High temperature near IR spectral absorption of clear SiO2-based glasses

Experimental high temperature near infrared (NIR) absorption spectra of different SiO₂-based glasses, including lead silicate crystal glass, clear soda lime silicate (SLS) glass and fused silica with low and high OH content, are compared. The more polarizable the glass, the stronger is the increase in the high temperature NIR absorption at wavelengths < 2 µm, involving a red shift of the optical bandgap edge with increasing temperature. It appears that the modified glassy Urbach's rule provides a framework for describing the temperature red shift of the absorption edge of lead silicate crystal glass, even above T_g. This red shift causes a 4–7 times lower Rosseland thermal radiation conductivity of lead crystal glass melts compared to clear SLS glass melts. Low OH fused silica is practically transparent for NIR thermal radiation, also at high temperatures above T_g. Incorporation of water in fused silica increases the NIR absorption in the spectral region 1.7–3.4 µm, for all temperatures. An upper limit of the diffusion coefficient D of water in fused silica was estimated from the time to measure the high temperature NIR spectra of thin (∼2 mm) samples: D < 4 * 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s at temperatures up to around 2000°C.