Optical fibres: atomic spectroscopic methods for the determination of fluoride glasses composition Original Research Article

Three different methods for the evaluation of the composition of optical fibres employed in long distance telecommunications have been developed. Such fibres are obtained from fluoride glasses containing very low impurity levels. The developed methods are based on inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry coupled with: 1. wet chemical dissolution; 2. alkali fusion; 3. direct solid slurry sampling. The procedures are compared with reference to the optimization of sample preparation, loss of components after sublimation, normalization with standards, accuracy, precision.