A Simple Method for Estimation of the Scattering Exponent of Nanostructured Glasses

For most of nanostructured glasses (NGs) (phase-separated glasses and glass-ceramics), the light scattering coefficient (turbidity) is described by a power function of the inverse wavelength with an exponent which differs appreciably from the Rayleigh value 4 and is called the scattering exponent. The knowledge of the scattering exponent of a material is important from both fundamental and practical points of view. Previously, we developed three rather complex methods to determine the scattering exponent. Here, we present a novel simple express method for its estimation. In the method, the measured optical density for only one sample is used, the refractive index of the material is not required, and the dispersion of refractive index is assumed to be insignificant. The method is based on the differentiation of the measured optical density with respect to the wavelength. The scattering exponent values obtained by the new method for NGs of different types are in good agreement with those found by the traditional methods. The new method is found to be applicable even to NGs with high dispersion of refractive index. Thus, the new method does not require the data on the refractive index dispersion and can be applied without restrictions.