Dielectric properties of silver-containing photo-thermo-refractive glass in temperature range of − 50 to + 250 °C: The role of hybrid molecular clusters

Dielectric constant spectra of photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glasses with silver in temperature range of − 50 to + 250 °C and frequency range from 0.1 Hz up to 1 MHz are presented. Glasses without and with silver, after UV irradiation and heat treatments were under study. It is shown that doping of the glasses by a small amount of silver (0.124 mol%) dramatically changes their dielectric characteristics. The influence of halides (Cl, Br) on dielectric characteristics of glasses was investigated. Computer simulations employing the Density Functional Theory (DFT) showed that new relaxation centers, such as subnanosized hybrid molecular clusters like AgxNay, charged or neutral, can be formed in the glass. The more complicated complexes like AgxNay-Hal (Hal = Cl or Br) can be also formed.