Tb- or Eu-containing fluorophosphate fluorescent glass

Abstract

According to the present invention, there is provided a fluorescent glass of the present invention is capable of converting invisible ultraviolet rays into visually observable visible rays with a high efficiency and available for controlling the optical axis of a laser beam such as excimer laser, etc. The feature of this fluorescent glass consists in a Tb- or Eu-containing fluorophosphate fluorescent glass having a chemical composition comprising, at least, phosphorus (P), oxygen (O) and fluorine (F), and further containing Tb or Eu as a fluorescent agent, and specifically comprising, in terms of atoms for making up the glass (mol %): ______________________________________ P 1.about.15 Al 1.about.18 Mg 0.about.12 Ca 0.about.18 Sr 0.5.about.21 Ba 0.5.about.28 Zn 0.about.3.5 R 0.about.10 Ln 0.8.about.8 Ln' 0.about.6.5 Ce 0.about.0.2 O 4.about.55 F 15.about.70 ______________________________________ wherein Ln is Tb or Eu, and Ln' is at least one atom selected from the group consisting of Y, La, Gd and Yb and R is at least one atom selected from the group consisting of Li, Na and K.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.