OPTICAL GLASS, PREFORM MATERIAL AND OPTICAL ELEMENT

11-04-2019 дата публикации

Номер:

US20190106352A1

Автор: Hiroto Nojima, Atsushi Nagaoka, Fumihiro Oguri, NOJIMA HIROTO, NAGAOKA ATSUSHI, OGURI FUMIHIRO, Nojima, Hiroto, Nagaoka, Atsushi, Oguri, Fumihiro

Принадлежит: OHARA INC.

Контакты:

Номер заявки: 98-86-1608

Дата заявки: 15-03-2017

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001]

The present invention relates to an optical glass, a preform material, and an optical element.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002]

In recent years, shooting devices such as a digital camera and a video camera, and other devices using an optical system such as a monitoring camera and an in-vehicle camera are increasingly used outdoors in a constant manner. Lenses used in the optical system for use in such applications are required to have sufficient durability to withstand weather and chemicals.

[0003]

Particularly among optical glass used to form an optical element, there is a significantly increasing demand for high-refractive-index and low-dispersion glass that has a refractive index (n_d) of not less than 1.60 but not more than 1.95 and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 25 but not more than 62 and that enables reduction in weight and size of the whole of an optical system. Glass compositions as typified by Patent Literatures 1 and 2 are known for such high-refractive-index and low-dispersion glass.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

[0000]

Patent Literature 1: JP 2002-173334 A
Patent Literature 2: JP 2009-269771 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problems

[0006]

The optical glass according to the invention is desired to have chemical durability of Class 1 to Class 3 in terms of chemical durability (acid resistance) of glass as measured by the powder method according to JOGIS 06-1999, and a degree of abrasion of not more than 200 as measured by the “Measuring Method for Degree of Abrasion of Optical Glass” according to JOGIS 10-1994. In this way, glass can be obtained in which tarnish and interference film that are generally called “dimming” and “staining,” respectively, and that may be caused on a lens surface due to water vapor, carbonic acid gas, rain and the like in the air do not take place, the glass not being scratched even when sand, stone, dust or the like rubs on or collide with the lens surface.

[0007]

Optical glass for use in an optical element is required to be stably obtained when formed as glass. In cases where the stability of glass against devitrification (resistance to devitrification) is reduced to generate crystals inside the glass, glass suitable for use as an optical element can no longer be obtained.

[0008]

Optical glass containing an La₂O_pcomponent as its main component contains a large amount of a B₂O₃component. In other words, there exist a large amount of optical glass having a so-called B₂O₃—La₂O₃compositional system. Incorporation of not less than 10.0% of the B₂O₃component together with the La₂O₃component leads to introduction of large amounts of rare-earth components to contribute to stability and a higher refractive index during formation of glass.

[0009]

However, if the B₂O₃component is contained in a large amount, durability such as chemical durability (acid durability) and degree of abrasion will be disadvantageously reduced.

[0010]

Each of glass compositions described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 relates to optical glass having a so-called B₂O₃—La₂O₃compositional system and has low chemical durability (acid resistance) and a high degree of abrasion, and is therefore not suitable for cases in which use under exposure to an external environment is presupposed.

[0011]

Further, the SiO₂component for improving the durability is not sufficiently contained in the glass compositions described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, and the glass compositions suffer from low chemical durability (acid resistance) and a high degree of abrasion.

[0012]

The present invention has been made in view of the problems described above, and an object of the present invention is to obtain glass having high chemical durability (acid resistance) and a low degree of abrasion while the refractive index (n_d) is not less than 1.60 but not more than 1.95 and the Abbe number (ν_d) is within a desired range of not less than 25 but not more than 62.

Solution to Problems

[0013]

In order to solve the problems described above, the inventors of the present invention have made intensive experiments and studies and as a result found that glass containing an SiO₂component and an La₂O₃component whose refractive index (n_d) and Abbe number (ν_d) are within desired ranges, particularly glass having a refractive index (n_d) of not less than 1.78 but not more than 1.95 and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 25 but not more than 45 (optical glass according to a first aspect), and more particularly glass having a refractive index (n_d) of not less than 1.60 but not more than 1.85, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 33 but not more than 62 (optical glass according to a second aspect) enable an increase in devitrification resistance while reducing the amount of a component, in particular a B₂O₃component that may reduce the chemical durability (acid resistance). The present invention has been thus completed.

[0014]

More specifically, the present invention provides the following:

[0015]

(1) An optical glass comprising, by mass %:

- 10.0% to 40.0% of an SiO₂component;
- 15.0% to 50.0% of an La₂O₃component; and
- 5.0% to less than 25.0% of a TiO₂component,
- wherein the optical glass has
- a B₂O₃/SiO₂mass ratio of not more than 1.00,
- a refractive index (n_d) of 1.78 to 1.95, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of 25 to 45, and
- chemical durability (acid resistance) of Class 1 to Class 3 when measured by a powder method.

[0023]

(2) The optical glass according to (1) comprising, by mass %:

- 0 to 30.0% of a ZnO component;
- 0 to 20.0% of a ZrO₂component;
- 0 to 20.0% of an Al₂O₃component;
- 0 to 25.0% of a Y₂O₃component; and
- 0 to 20.0% of a B₂O₃component.

[0029]

(3) The optical glass according to (1) or (2), wherein a total mass of B₂O₃+Nb₂O₅is less than 20.0%, and a total mass of ZrO₂+Nb₂O₅+WO₃+ZnO is less than 25.0%.

[0030]

(4) The optical glass according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein a total mass of TiO₂+ZrO₂is less than 35.0%.

[0031]

(5) An optical glass comprising, by mass %:

- 10.0% to 50.0% of an SiO₂component;
- 15.0% to 60.0% of an La₂O₃component; and
- 0 to less than 15.0% of a TiO₂component,
- wherein the optical glass has
- a B₂O₃/SiO₂mass ratio of not more than 1.00,
- a refractive index (n_d) of 1.60 to 1.85, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of 33 to 62, and
- chemical durability (acid resistance) of Class 1 to Class 3 when measured by a powder method.

[0039]

(6) The optical glass according to (5) comprising, by mass %:

- 0 to 35.0% of a ZnO component;
- 0 to 20.0% of a ZrO₂component;
- 0 to 20.0% of an Al₂O₃component; and
- 0 to 20.0% of a B₂O₃component.

[0044]

(7) The optical glass according to (5) or (6), wherein a total mass of B₂O₃+Nb₂O₅is less than 20.0%.

[0045]

(8) The optical glass according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein a total mass of an Ln2O component (where Ln is one or more selected from the group consisting of La, Gd, Y, Yb, and Lu) is not less than 15.0% but not more than 65.0%, a total mass of an RO component (where R is one or more selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) is not more than 25.0%, and a total mass of an Rn₂O component (where Rn is one or more selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, and K) is not more than 10.0%.

[0046]

(9) The optical glass according to any one of (1) to (8), having an abrasion degree of not more than 200.

[0047]

(10) A preform material comprising the optical glass according to any one of (1) to (9).

[0048]

(11) An optical element comprising the optical glass according to any one of (1) to (10).

[0049]

(12) An optical instrument comprising the optical element according to (11).

Advantageous Effects of the Invention

[0050]

According to the invention, there can be obtained glass in which the chemical durability (acid resistance) according to the powder method is high and the degree of abrasion assumes a small value while the refractive index (n_d) and the Abbe number (ν_d) are within desired ranges.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(Optical Glass According to First Aspect)

[0051]

An optical glass according to the first aspect of the invention comprises, by mass %, not less than 10.0% but not more than 40.0% of an SiO₂component; not less than 15.0% but not more than 50.0% of an La₂O₃component; and not less than 5.0% but less than 25% of a TiO₂component, wherein the optical glass has a mass ratio (B₂O₃/SiO₂) of not more than 1.0, a refractive index (n_d) of not less than 1.78 but not more than 1.95, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 25 but not more than 45. In optical glass containing the SiO₂component and the La₂O₃component as its main components, glass showing high acid resistance while also having a refractive index (n_d) of not less than 1.78 and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 25 but not more than 45 is easily obtained.

[0052]

In addition, the optical glass according to the first aspect of the invention can be suitably used in applications in which visible light is transmitted by high visible light transmittance.

[0053]

An embodiment of the optical glass according to the present invention is described below in detail. The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiment described below but can be embodied within the scope of the purpose of the invention by appropriately adding modifications. A description may be omitted as appropriate in portions where descriptions overlap. This does not, however, limit the scope of the invention.

[Glass Components]

[0054]

The composition range of each component making up the optical glass of the invention is described below. Unless otherwise specified, the component contents in the specification are all shown by mass % with respect to the total mass number of the composition in terms of oxides. The “composition in terms of oxides” as used herein refers to a composition indicating each of components contained in glass assuming that oxides, complex salts, metal fluorides and the like used as materials of the components making up the glass of the invention are all decomposed into oxides during melting, the components being indicated with respect to the total mass number of the produced oxides which is taken as 100 mass %.

<Essential Components and Optional Components>

[0055]

In the optical glass of the invention having high durability, the SiO₂component is an essential component as an oxide for glass formation. In particular, adjustment of the SiO₂component content to 10.0% or more leads to higher resistance of glass to acids, less degree of abrasion, and higher glass viscosity. Therefore, the lower limit of the SiO₂component content is preferably adjusted to 10.0%, more preferably 15.0%, even more preferably 20.0%, and still more preferably 25.0%.

[0056]

On the other hand, adjustment of the SiO₂component content to 40.0% or less leads to easy obtainment of a larger refractive index and improved deterioration of the devitrification resistance. Therefore, the SiO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 40.0%, more preferably less than 37.0%, even more preferably less than 35.0%, and still more preferably less than 33.0%.

[0057]

Materials such as SiO₂, K₂SiF₆, Na₂SiF₆, and ZrSiO₄can be used for the SiO₂component.

[0058]

The La₂O₃component is an essential component to increase the refractive index and Abbe number of glass. Therefore, the La₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not less than 15.0%, more preferably more than 16.0%, even more preferably more than 18.0%, and still more preferably more than 20.0%.

[0059]

On the other hand, adjustment of the La₂O₃component content to 50.0% or less leads to enhanced glass stability, whereby devitrification can be minimized while preventing the Abbe number from increasing more than necessary. The melting properties of glass materials can also be enhanced. Therefore, the La₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 50.0%, more preferably less than 45.0%, and even more preferably less than 40.0%.

[0060]

Materials such as La₂O₃and La(NO₃)₃.XH₂O (X is an arbitrary integer) can be used for the La₂O₃component.

[0061]

When contained in an amount of not less than 5.0%, the TiO₂component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass and improve the stability through reduction of the liquidus temperature of glass. Therefore, the TiO₂component content may be preferably adjusted to not less than 5.0%, more preferably more than 6.0%, even more preferably more than 7.0%, still more preferably more than 8.0%, and even still more preferably more than 9.0%.

[0062]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the TiO₂component content to less than 25.0%, devitrification due to the excessively contained TiO₂component can be minimized while less reducing the visible light transmittance of glass (particularly at a wavelength of not more than 500 nm). This also minimizes reduction of the Abbe number. Therefore, the TiO₂component content is preferably adjusted to less than 25.0%, more preferably less than 24.0%, even more preferably less than 21.0%, still more preferably less than 19.0%, and most preferably not more than 15.0%.

[0063]

Materials such as TiO₂can be used for the TiO₂component.

[0064]

The ratio (mass ratio) of the B₂O₃component content to the SiO₂component content is preferably not more than 1.0.

[0065]

Glass that has improved acid resistance and may withstand prolonged use can be easily obtained by particularly adjusting the mass ratio to 1.0 or less. Therefore, the B₂O₃/SiO₂mass ratio is preferably adjusted to not more than 1.0, more preferably not more than 0.98, even more preferably not more than 0.90, still more preferably not more than 0.80, and even still more preferably not more than 0.70.

[0066]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the ZnO component is an optional component that may enhance material melting properties, promote degassing of melted glass, and improve stability of glass. The ZnO component is also a component that can reduce coloration of glass owing to the melting time that can be shortened or other reasons. The ZnO component is also a component that can reduce the glass transition point and improve the chemical durability (acid resistance). Therefore, the ZnO component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, even more preferably more than 2.5%, still more preferably more than 4.5%, even still more preferably more than 6.5%, and still even more preferably more than 8.5%.

[0067]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the ZnO component content to 30.0% or less, the refractive index of glass can be less reduced while also minimizing devitrification due to excessively lowered viscosity. Therefore, the ZnO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 30.0%, more preferably less than 28.0%, and even more preferably less than 25.0%.

[0068]

Materials such as ZnO and ZnF₂can be used for the ZnO component.

[0069]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the ZrO₂component is an optional component that can increase the refractive index and Abbe number of glass and enhance the devitrification resistance. Therefore, the ZrO₂component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, even more preferably more than 3.0%, still more preferably more than 5.0%, and even still more preferably more than 7.0%.

[0070]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the ZrO₂component content to 20.0% or less, devitrification due to the excessively contained ZrO₂component can be minimized. Therefore, the ZrO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 20.0%, more preferably less than 18.0%, even more preferably less than 16.0%, and still more preferably less than 14.0%.

[0071]

Materials such as ZrO₂and ZrF₄can be used for the ZrO₂component.

[0072]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Al₂O₃component is an optional component that can improve the chemical durability (acid resistance) of glass and improve the devitrification resistance of melted glass. Therefore, the Al₂O₃component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, even more preferably more than 2.5%, still more preferably more than 5.0%, and even still more preferably more than 7.5%.

[0073]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the Al₂O₃component content to 20.0% or less, the liquidus temperature of glass can be reduced to enhance the devitrification resistance. Therefore, the Al₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 20.0%, more preferably less than 18.0%, even more preferably less than 16.5%, and still more preferably less than 15.0%.

[0074]

Materials such as Al₂O₃, Al(OH)₃, and AlF₃can be used for the Al₂O₃component.

[0075]

[0076]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the Y₂O₃component content to 25.0% or less, the stability of glass can be enhanced while less reducing the refractive index of glass. Deterioration of the melting properties of glass materials can also be improved. Therefore, the Y₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 25.0%, more preferably less than 23.0%, even more preferably less than 20.0%, and most preferably not more than 18.0%.

[0077]

Materials such as Y₂O₃and YF₃can be used for the Y₂O₃component.

[0078]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the B₂O₃component is an optional component as a glass-forming oxide that may reduce the liquidus temperature while enhancing the devitrification resistance.

[0079]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the B₂O₃component content to 20.0% or less, a larger refractive index can be easily obtained while also improving deterioration of the chemical durability (acid resistance) and suppressing an increase in degree of abrasion. Therefore, the B₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 20.0%, more preferably less than 16.0%, even more preferably less than 14%, still more preferably less than 13.0%, even still more preferably less than 12.0%, and still even more preferably less than 10.0%.

[0080]

Materials such as H₃BO₃, Na₂B₄O₇, Na₂B₄O₇.10H₂O, and BPO₄can be used for the B₂O₃component.

[0081]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Nb₂O₅component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass and enhance the devitrification resistance through reduction of the liquidus temperature of glass. Therefore, the Nb₂O₅component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, even more preferably more than 3.0%, still more preferably more than 4.5%, and even still more preferably more than 6.5%.

[0082]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the Nb₂O₅component content to less than 15.0%, devitrification due to the excessively contained N_bO₅component can be minimized while less reducing the visible light transmittance of glass (particularly at a wavelength of not more than 500 nm). This also minimizes reduction of the Abbe number. Therefore, the Nb₂O₅component content is preferably adjusted to less than 15.0%, more preferably less than 13.0%, even more preferably less than 10.0%, and still more preferably less than 7.0%.

[0083]

Materials such as Nb₂O₅can be used for the Nb₂O₅component.

[0084]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the WO₃component is an optional component that allows glass to have a higher refractive index, a lower glass transition point and enhanced devitrification resistance while reducing coloration of glass due to other high refractive index components.

[0085]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the WO₃component content to less than 10.0%, material costs of glass can be reduced. Further, coloration of glass due to the WO₃component can be reduced to increase the visible light transmittance. Therefore, the WO₃component content is preferably adjusted to less than 10.0%, more preferably less than 6.0%, even more preferably less than 4.5%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, even still more preferably less than 1.0%, still even more preferably less than 0.5%, and yet even more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0086]

Materials such as WO₃can be used for the WO₃component.

[0087]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Gd₂O₃component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass.

[0088]

However, when the Gd₂O₃component is contained in a large amount, production cost is increased due to its high material cost. An increase in Abbe number of glass can be suppressed by adjusting the Gd₂O₃component content to 25.0% or less. Therefore, the Gd₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 25.0%, more preferably less than 23.0%, and even more preferably less than 20.0%.

[0089]

Materials such as Gd₂O₃and GdF₃can be used for the Gd₂O₃component.

[0090]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Yb₂O₃component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass.

[0091]

However, when the Yb₂O₃component is contained in a large amount, production cost is increased due to its high material cost. An increase in Abbe number of glass can be suppressed by adjusting the Yb₂O₃component content to less than 5.0%. Therefore, the Yb₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to less than 5.0%, more preferably less than 3.0%, even more preferably less than 2.0%, still more preferably less than 0.5%, and even still more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0092]

Materials such as Yb₂O₃can be used for the Yb₂O₃component.

[0093]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Ta₂O₅component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass and enhance the devitrification resistance.

[0094]

However, when the Ta₂O₅component is contained in a large amount, production cost is increased due to its high material cost. Further, adjustment of the Ta₂O₅component content to less than 5.0% leads to a lower melting temperature of the material to realize reduction of energy required for melting the material, and therefore costs involved in optical glass production can also be reduced. Therefore, the Ta₂O₅component content is preferably adjusted to less than 5.0%, more preferably less than 3.0%, even more preferably less than 1.0%, still more preferably less than 0.5%, and even still more preferably less than 0.1%. It is most preferable not to contain the Ta₂O₅component from the viewpoint of reducing the material cost.

[0095]

Materials such as Ta₂O₅can be used for the Ta₂O₅component.

[0096]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the MgO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0097]

Through adjustment of the MgO component content to 10.0% or less, the refractive index can be less reduced while also minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the MgO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, and still more preferably less than 1.0%.

[0098]

Materials such as MgCO₃and MgF₂can be used for the MgO component.

[0099]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the CaO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0100]

Also through adjustment of the CaO component content to 35.0% or less, a desired refractive index can be easily obtained while minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the CaO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 35.0%, more preferably less than 30.0%, even more preferably less than 25.0%, still more preferably less than 22.0%, and even still more preferably less than 20.0%.

[0101]

Materials such as CaCO₃and CaF₂can be used for the CaO component.

[0102]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the SrO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0103]

Also through adjustment of the SrO component content to 35.0% or less, a desired refractive index can be easily obtained while minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the SrO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 35.0%, more preferably less than 30.0%, even more preferably less than 25.0%, still more preferably less than 22.0%, and even still more preferably less than 20.0%.

[0104]

Materials such as Sr(NO₃)₂and SrF₂can be used for the SrO component.

[0105]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the BaO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0106]

Also through adjustment of the BaO component content to 35.0% or less, a desired refractive index can be easily obtained while minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the BaO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 35.0%, more preferably less than 30.0%, even more preferably less than 29.0%, still more preferably less than 25.0%, even still more preferably less than 22.0%, and still even more preferably less than 20.0%.

[0107]

Materials such as BaCO₃, Ba(NO₃)₂, and BaF₂can be used for the BaO component.

[0108]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Li₂O component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0109]

On the other hand, adjustment of the Li₂O component content to 10.0% or less can lead to improved deterioration of the chemical durability (acid resistance), a less easily reduced refractive index of glass, and minimized devitrification of glass. Further, reduction of the Li₂O component content leads to enhanced viscosity of glass, and striae of glass can be therefore reduced. Accordingly, the Li₂O component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, still more preferably less than 1.0%, even still more preferably less than 0.5%, and still even more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0110]

Materials such as Li₂CO₃, LiNO₃, and Li₂CO₃can be used for the Li₂O component.

[0111]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Na₂O component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0112]

On the other hand, adjustment of the Na₂O component content to 10.0% or less can lead to a less easily reduced refractive index of glass, and minimized devitrification of glass. Therefore, the Na₂O component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 6.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, still more preferably less than 1.0%, even still more preferably less than 0.5%, and still even more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0113]

Materials such as Na₂CO₃, NaNO₃, NaF, and Na₂SiF₆can be used for the Na₂O component.

[0114]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the K₂O component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0115]

On the other hand, adjustment of the K₂O component content to 10.0% or less can lead to a less easily reduced refractive index of glass, a suppressed increase in degree of abrasion, and minimized devitrification of glass. Therefore, the K₂O component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, still more preferably less than 1.0%, even still more preferably less than 0.5%, and still even more preferably less than 0.1%. Materials such as K₂CO₃, KNO₃, KF, KHF₂, and K₂SiF₆can be used for the K₂O component.

[0116]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the P₂O₅component is an optional component that may reduce the liquidus temperature of glass to enhance the devitrification resistance.

[0117]

On the other hand, adjustment of the P₂O₅component content to 10.0% or less can lead to improved deterioration of the chemical durability (acid resistance) of glass and a suppressed increase in degree of abrasion. Therefore, the P₂O₅component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, and even more preferably less than 3.0%.

[0118]

Materials such as Al(PO)₃, Ca(PO₃)₂, Ba(PO₃)₂, BPO₄, and H₃PO₄can be used for the P₂O₅component.

[0119]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the GeO₂component is an optional component that can increase the refractive index of glass and improve its devitrification resistance.

[0120]

However, when GeO₂is contained in a large amount, production cost is increased due to its high material cost. Therefore, the GeO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, still more preferably less than 1.0%, and even still more preferably less than 0.1%. The GeO₂component may not be contained from the viewpoint of reducing the material cost.

[0121]

Materials such as GeO₂can be used for the GeO₂component.

[0122]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Ga₂O₃component is an optional component that can improve the chemical durability (acid resistance) of glass while enhancing the devitrification resistance of melted glass.

[0123]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the Ga₂O₃component content to 10.0% or less, the liquidus temperature of glass can be reduced to enhance the devitrification resistance. Therefore, the Ga₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 8.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, and still more preferably less than 3.0%.

[0124]

Materials such as Ga₂O₃and Ga(OH)₃can be used for the Ga₂O₃component.

[0125]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Bi₂O₃component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index and reduce the glass transition point.

[0126]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the Bi₂O₃component content to 10.0% or less, the liquidus temperature of glass can be reduced to enhance the devitrification resistance. Therefore, the Bi₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 8.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, even still more preferably less than 1.0%, and most preferably 0%.

[0127]

Materials such as Bi₂O₃can be used for the Bi₂O₃component.

[0128]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the TeO₂component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index and reduce the glass transition point.

[0129]

On the other hand, TeO₂may be alloyed with platinum when glass materials are melted in a crucible made of platinum or a melting bath in which a portion in contact with melted glass is made of platinum. Therefore, the TeO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 8.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, and even still more preferably less than 1.0%.

[0130]

Materials such as TeO₂can be used for the TeO₂component.

[0131]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the CsO₂component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0132]

On the other hand, the refractive index of glass is not easily reduced and devitrification of glass can be minimized. Therefore, the CsO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 3.0%, more preferably less than 2.0%, even more preferably less than 1.0%, still more preferably less than 0.1%, and most preferably 0%.

[0133]

Materials such as Cs₂CO₃and CsNO₃can be used for the CsO₂component.

[0134]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the SnO₂component is an optional component that may clarify melted glass through reduction of its oxidation while increasing the visible light transmittance of glass.

[0135]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the SnO₂component content to 3.0% or less, coloration of glass due to reduction of melted glass and devitrification of glass can be minimized. Further, melting equipment may have a longer lifetime because of reduction of alloying of the SnO₂component with the melting equipment (in particular noble metal such as Pt). Therefore, the SnO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 3.0%, more preferably less than 1.0%, even more preferably less than 0.5%, and still more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0136]

Materials such as SnO, SnO₂, SnF₂, and SnF₄can be used for the SnO₂component.

[0137]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Sb₂O₃component is an optional component that enables degassing of melted glass.

[0138]

On the other hand, when the Sb₂O₃content is too large, the transmittance in the short wavelength range of the visible light region is reduced. Therefore, the Sb₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 3.0%, more preferably less than 2.0%, even more preferably less than 1.0%, and still more preferably less than 0.5%.

[0139]

Materials such as Sb₂O₃, Sb₂O₅, and Na2H₂Sb₂O₇.5H₂O can be used for the Sb₂O₃component.

[0140]

The component for clarification and degassing of glass is not limited to the Sb₂O₃component described above but clarifying agents and degassing agents known in the field of glass production, or combinations thereof may be used.

[0141]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the F component is an optional component that can increase the Abbe number of glass, reduce the glass transition point, and improve the devitrification resistance.

[0142]

However, when the F component content, i.e., the total amount of F in fluorides substituted with a part or the whole of one or more than one oxide of each of the metallic elements as described above exceeds 15.0%, the volatilization volume of the F component is increased and therefore stable optical constants are not easily obtained, and homogeneous glass is not easily obtained. Further, the Abbe number is increased more than necessary.

[0143]

Therefore, the F component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 15.0%, more preferably less than 10.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, and still more preferably less than 3.0%.

[0144]

Materials such as ZrF₄, AlF₃, NaF, and CaF₂can be used for the F component.

[0145]

The total amount (total mass) of the B₂O₃component and the Nb₂O₅component is preferably less than 20.0%. The acid resistance can be thereby improved while the Abbe number (ν_d) lies within a desired range. Therefore, the total mass B₂O₃+Nb₂O₅is preferably adjusted to less than 20.0%, more preferably less than 18.0%, even more preferably less than 15.0%, still more preferably less than 13.0%, even still more preferably less than 12.0%, and still even more preferably less than 11.0%.

[0146]

On the other hand, the devitrification resistance can be improved by adjusting the total amount (total mass) of the B₂O₃component and the Nb₂O₅component to more than 0%. Therefore, the total mass B₂O₃+Nb₂O₅may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 3.0%, even more preferably more than 5.0%, and still more preferably more than 6.0%.

[0147]

The total amount (total mass) of the TiO₂component and the ZrO₂component is preferably less than 35.0%.

[0148]

The Abbe number (ν_d) can be thereby less reduced. Therefore, the total mass TiO₂+ZrO₂is adjusted to have an upper limit of preferably less than 35.0%, more preferably not more than 33.0%, even more preferably less than 30.0%, still more preferably less than 28.0%, and even still more preferably not more than 25.0%.

[0149]

On the other hand, the refractive index of glass can be increased by adjusting the total amount (total mass) of the TiO₂component and the ZrO₂component to more than 0%. Therefore, the total mass TiO₂+ZrO₂may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably not less than 5.0%, even more preferably more than 8.0%, still more preferably more than 10.0%, even still more preferably more than 13.0%, and still even more preferably more than 15.0%.

[0150]

The total amount (total mass) of the ZrO₂component, Nb₂O₅component, WO₃component, and ZnO component is preferably not less than 5.0%.

[0151]

The Abbe number (ν_d) can be thereby adjusted within a desired range. Therefore, the total mass ZrO₂+Nb₂O₅+WO₃+ZnO may be preferably adjusted to not less than 5.0%, more preferably more than 7.0%, even more preferably more than 9.0%, still more preferably more than 11.0%, and even still more preferably more than 13.0%.

[0152]

On the other hand, the devitrification resistance of glass can be enhanced by adjusting the total amount (total mass) of the ZrO₂component, Nb₂O₅component, WO₃component, and ZnO component to 60.0% or less. Therefore, the total mass ZrO₂+Nb₂O₅+WO₃+ZnO may be preferably adjusted to not more than 60.0%, more preferably less than 55.0%, even more preferably less than 50.0%, and still more preferably less than 48.0%.

[0153]

The total amount (total mass) of the contained Ln₂O₃component (where Ln is one or more selected from the group consisting of La, Gd, Y, Yb, and Lu) is preferably not less than 15.0% but not more than 65.0%.

[0154]

The refractive index and the Abbe number of glass can be increased by particularly adjusting the total amount to 15.0% or more, and glass having desired refractive index and Abbe number can be therefore easily obtained. Accordingly, the total mass of the Ln₂O₃component is preferably adjusted to not less than 15.0%, more preferably more than 16.0%, even more preferably more than 18.0%, and still more preferably more than 20.0%.

[0155]

On the other hand, the liquidus temperature of glass is reduced by adjusting the total amount to 65.0% or less, and devitrification of glass can be therefore minimized. The Abbe number can also be prevented from increasing more than necessary. Therefore, the total mass of the Ln₂O₃component is preferably adjusted to not more than 65.0%, more preferably less than 60.0%, even more preferably less than 55.0%, and still more preferably less than 50.0%.

[0156]

The total amount (total mass) of the contained RO component (where R is one or more selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) is preferably not more than 35.0%. The refractive index can be thereby less reduced while also enhancing the stability of glass. Therefore, the total mass of the RO component is preferably adjusted to not more than 35.0%, more preferably less than 33.0%, even more preferably less than 30.0%, and still more preferably less than 29.0%.

[0157]

The total amount (total mass) of the contained Rn₂O component (where Rn is one or more selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, and K) is preferably not more than 10.0%. This results in less reduced viscosity of melted glass, less easily reduced refractive index of glass, and minimized devitrification of glass. Therefore, the total mass of the Rn₂O component is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 8.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, and still more preferably less than 3.0%.

(Optical Glass According to Second Aspect)

[0158]

An optical glass according to the second aspect of the invention comprises, by mass %, not less than 10.0% but not more than 50.0% of an SiO₂component; not less than 15.0% but not more than 60.0% of an La₂O₃component; not less than 0.0% but less than 15% of a TiO₂component, wherein the optical glass has a mass ratio (B₂O₃/SiO₂) of not more than 1.0, a refractive index (n_d) of not less than 1.60 but not more than 1.85, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 33 but not more than 62. In optical glass containing the SiO_component and the La₂O₃component as its main components, glass showing high acid resistance while also having a refractive index (n_d) Of not less than 1.60 and an Abbe number (ν_d) of not less than 33 but not more than 62 is easily obtained.

[0159]

In addition, the optical glass according to the second aspect of the invention can be suitably used in applications in which visible light is transmitted by high visible light transmittance.

<Essential Components and Optional Components>

[0160]

[0161]

On the other hand, adjustment of the SiO₂component content to 50.0% or less leads to easy obtainment of a larger refractive index and improved deterioration of the devitrification resistance. Therefore, the SiO₂component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 50.0%, more preferably less than 47.0%, even more preferably less than 45.0%, and still more preferably less than 43.0%.

[0162]

Materials such as SiO₂, K₂SiF₆, Na₂SiF₆, and ZrSiO₄can be used for the SiO₂component.

[0163]

[0164]

On the other hand, adjustment of the La₂O₃component content to 60.0% or less leads to enhanced glass stability, whereby devitrification can be minimized while preventing the Abbe number from increasing more than necessary. The melting properties of glass materials can also be enhanced. Therefore, the La₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 60.0%, more preferably less than 58.0%, and even more preferably less than 55.0%.

[0165]

Materials such as La₂O₃and La(NO₃)₃.XH₂O (X is an arbitrary integer) can be used for the La₂O₃component.

[0166]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the TiO₂component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass and improve the stability through reduction of the liquidus temperature of glass.

[0167]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the TiO₂component content to less than 15.0%, devitrification due to the excessively contained TiO₂component can be minimized while less reducing the visible light transmittance of glass (particularly at a wavelength of not more than 500 nm). This also minimizes reduction of the Abbe number. Therefore, the TiO₂component content is preferably adjusted to less than 15.0%, more preferably less than 13.0%, even more preferably less than 11.0%, still more preferably less than 10.0%, and even still more preferably less than 9.0%.

[0168]

Materials such as TiO₂can be used for the TiO₂component.

[0169]

The ratio (mass ratio) of the B₂O₃component content to the SiO₂component content is preferably not more than 1.0.

[0170]

Glass that has improved acid resistance and may withstand prolonged use can be easily obtained by adjusting the mass ratio to 1.0 or less. Therefore, the B₂O₃/SiO₂mass ratio is preferably adjusted to not more than 1.0, more preferably not more than 0.98, even more preferably not more than 0.90, still more preferably not more than 0.80, and even still more preferably not more than 0.70.

[0171]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the ZnO component is an optional component that may enhance material melting properties, promote degassing of melted glass, and improve stability of glass. The ZnO component is also a component that can reduce coloration of glass owing to the melting time that can be shortened or other reasons. The ZnO component is also a component that can reduce the glass transition point and improve the chemical durability. Therefore, the ZnO component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, even more preferably more than 2.5%, still more preferably more than 4.5%, even still more preferably more than 6.5%, and still even more preferably more than 8.5%.

[0172]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the ZnO component content to 35.0% or less, the refractive index of glass can be less reduced while also minimizing devitrification due to excessively lowered viscosity. Therefore, the ZnO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 35.0%, more preferably less than 33.0%, even more preferably less than 31.0%, and still more preferably less than 29.0%.

[0173]

Materials such as ZnO and ZnF₂can be used for the ZnO component.

[0174]

[0175]

[0176]

Materials such as ZrO₂and ZrF₄can be used for the ZrO₂component.

[0177]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Al₂O₃component is an optional component that can improve the chemical durability of glass while enhancing the devitrification resistance of melted glass. Therefore, the Al₂O₃component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, even more preferably more than 2.5%, still more preferably more than 5.0%, and even still more preferably more than 7.5%.

[0178]

[0179]

Materials such as Al₂O₃, Al(OH)₃, and AlF₃can be used for the Al₂O₃component.

[0180]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Y₂O₃component is an optional component that may reduce material costs of glass while keeping a high refractive index and a high Abbe number and can reduce the specific gravity of glass more than using other rare-earth components. Therefore, the Y₂O₃component content may be preferably adjusted to more than 0%, more preferably more than 1.0%, and even more preferably more than 3.0%.

[0181]

[0182]

Materials such as Y₂O₃and YF₃can be used for the Y₂O₃component.

[0183]

[0184]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the B₂O₃component content to 20.0% or less, a larger refractive index can be easily obtained while also improving deterioration of the chemical durability and suppressing an increase in degree of abrasion. Therefore, the B₂O₃component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 20.0%, more preferably less than 16.0%, even more preferably less than 13.0%, and still more preferably less than 10.0%.

[0185]

Materials such as H₃BO₃, Na₂B₄O₇, Na₂B₄O₇.10H₂O, and BPO₄can be used for the B₂O₃component.

[0186]

[0187]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the Nb₂O₅component content to less than 15.0%, devitrification due to the excessively contained Nb₂O₅component can be minimized while less reducing the visible light transmittance of glass (particularly at a wavelength of not more than 500 nm). This also minimizes reduction of the Abbe number. Therefore, the Nb₂O₅component content is preferably adjusted to less than 15.0%, more preferably less than 13.0%, even more preferably less than 9.0%, still more preferably less than 7.0%, and even still more preferably less than 5.0%.

[0188]

Materials such as Nb₂O₅can be used for the Nb₂O₅component.

[0189]

[0190]

On the other hand, through adjustment of the WO₃component content to less than 10.0%, material costs of glass can be reduced. Further, coloration of glass due to the WO₃component can be reduced to increase the visible light transmittance. Therefore, the WO₃component content is preferably adjusted to less than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, still more preferably less than 1.0%, even still more preferably less than 0.5%, and still even more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0191]

Materials such as WO₃can be used for the WO₃component.

[0192]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Gd₂O₃component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass.

[0193]

[0194]

Materials such as Gd₂O₃and GdF₃can be used for the Gd₂O₃component.

[0195]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Yb₂O₃component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass.

[0196]

[0197]

Materials such as Yb₂O₃can be used for the Yb₂O₃component.

[0198]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Ta₂O₅component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index of glass and enhance the devitrification resistance.

[0199]

[0200]

Materials such as Ta₂O₅can be used for the Ta₂O₅component.

[0201]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the MgO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0202]

Through adjustment of the MgO component content to 15.0% or less, the refractive index can be less reduced while also minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the MgO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 15.0%, more preferably not more than 10.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, and even still more preferably less than 1.0%.

[0203]

Materials such as MgCO₃and MgF₂can be used for the MgO component.

[0204]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the CaO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0205]

Also through adjustment of the CaO component content to 15.0% or less, a desired refractive index can be easily obtained while minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the CaO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 15.0%, more preferably not more than 10.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, and even still more preferably less than 1.0%.

[0206]

Materials such as CaCO₃and CaF₂can be used for the CaO component.

[0207]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the SrO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0208]

Also through adjustment of the SrO component content to 15.0% or less, a desired refractive index can be easily obtained while minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the SrO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 15.0%, more preferably not more than 10.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, and even still more preferably less than 1.0%.

[0209]

Materials such as Sr(NO₃)₂and SrF₂can be used for the SrO component.

[0210]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the BaO component is an optional component that can adjust the refractive index, melting properties, and devitrification resistance of glass.

[0211]

Also through adjustment of the BaO component content to 15.0% or less, a desired refractive index can be easily obtained while minimizing devitrification due to these components excessively contained. Therefore, the BaO component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 15.0%, more preferably not more than 10.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, still more preferably less than 3.0%, and even still more preferably less than 1.0%.

[0212]

Materials such as BaCO₃, Ba(NO₃)₂, and BaF₂can be used for the BaO component.

[0213]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Li₂O component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0214]

[0215]

Materials such as Li₂CO₃, LiNO₃, and Li₂CO₃can be used for the Li₂O component.

[0216]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Na₂O component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0217]

On the other hand, adjustment of the Na₂O component content to 10.0% or less can lead to a less easily reduced refractive index of glass, and minimized devitrification of glass. Therefore, the Na₂O component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 10.0%, more preferably less than 5.0%, even more preferably less than 3.0%, still more preferably less than 1.0%, even still more preferably less than 0.5%, and still even more preferably less than 0.1%.

[0218]

Materials such as Na₂CO₃, NaNO₃, NaF, and Na₂SiF₆can be used for the Na₂O component.

[0219]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the K₂O component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0220]

[0221]

Materials such as K₂CO₃, KNO₃, KF, KHF₂, and K₂SiF₆can be used for the K₂O component.

[0222]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the P₂O₅component is an optional component that may reduce the liquidus temperature of glass to enhance the devitrification resistance.

[0223]

[0224]

Materials such as Al(PO₃)₃, Ca(PO₃)₂, Ba(PO₃)₂, BPO₄, and H₃PO₄can be used for the P₂O₅component.

[0225]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the GeO₂component is an optional component that can increase the refractive index of glass and improve its devitrification resistance.

[0226]

[0227]

Materials such as GeO₂can be used for the GeO₂component.

[0228]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Ga₂O₃component is an optional component that can improve the chemical durability of glass while enhancing the devitrification resistance of melted glass.

[0229]

[0230]

Materials such as Ga₂O₃and Ga(OH)₃can be used for the Ga₂O₃component.

[0231]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Bi₂O₃component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index and reduce the glass transition point.

[0232]

[0233]

Materials such as Bi₂O₃can be used for the Bi₂O₃component.

[0234]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the TeO₂component is an optional component that may increase the refractive index and reduce the glass transition point.

[0235]

[0236]

Materials such as TeO₂can be used for the TeO₂component.

[0237]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the CsO₂component is an optional component that can improve the melting properties of glass and reduce the glass transition point.

[0238]

[0239]

Materials such as Cs₂CO₃and CsNO₃can be used for the CsO₂component.

[0240]

[0241]

[0242]

Materials such as SnO, SnO₂, SnF₂, and SnF₄can be used for the SnO₂component.

[0243]

When contained in an amount exceeding 0%, the Sb₂O₃component is an optional component that enables degassing of melted glass.

[0244]

[0245]

Materials such as Sb₂O₃, Sb₂O₅, and Na₂H₂Sb₂O₇.5HO₂can be used for the Sb₂O₃component.

[0246]

[0247]

[0248]

[0249]

Therefore, the F component content is preferably adjusted to not more than 15.0%, more preferably less than 10.0%, even more preferably less than 5.0%, and still more preferably less than 3.0%.

[0250]

Materials such as ZrF₄, AlF₃, NaF, and CaF₂can be used for the F component.

[0251]

[0252]

[0253]

[0254]

[0255]

The total amount (total mass) of the contained RO component (where R is one or more selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) is preferably not more than 25.0%. The refractive index can be thereby less reduced while also enhancing the stability of glass. Therefore, the total mass of the RO component is preferably adjusted to not more than 25.0%, more preferably less than 20.0%, even more preferably less than 15.0%, and still more preferably less than 10.0%.

[0256]

<Components not to be Contained>

[0257]

Next, components not to be contained in the optical glass of the invention and components whose inclusion is not preferred are described.

[0258]

Other components can be added when necessary as long as the properties of the glass of the present invention are not impaired. However, even when used alone or in combination in small amounts, transition metal components except Ti, Zr, Nb, W, La, Gd, Y, Yb, and Lu as exemplified by V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ag and Mo have the property of causing glass coloration to generate absorption at specific wavelengths in the visible region. Accordingly, particularly optical glass using wavelengths in the visible region is preferably substantially free from these components.

[0259]

Further, lead compounds such as PbO and arsenic compounds such as As₂O₃are components each having a high environmental burden, and therefore, it is desirable for the optical glass to be substantially free from such compounds, in other words, to by no means contain such compounds except inevitable incorporation.

[0260]

In addition, there is a tendency in recent years to refrain from using components such as Th, Cd, Tl, Os, Be, and Se as hazardous chemical substances, and environmental measures are necessary not only in the glass production step but also in the processing step and also until the disposal after commercialization. Accordingly, when importance is to be placed on environmental effects, the optical glass is preferably substantially free from these components.

[Production Method]

[0261]

For instance, the optical glass of the invention is produced as follows: More specifically, the optical glass is produced by a process which involves uniformly mixing the materials described above so that the respective components are contained in amounts within specific ranges, charging the resulting mixture into a platinum crucible, melting the mixture in an electric furnace in a temperature range of 1,100 to 1,550° C. for 2 to 5 hours in accordance with the degree of difficulty in melting the glass materials, stirring the melted mixture for homogenization, allowing the mixture to cool to an appropriate temperature, casting the mixture into a mold, and allowing the cast mixture to cool slowly.

[0262]

Glass materials having high melting properties are preferably used in this process. This enables melting at lower temperatures and melting in a shorter period of time, and therefore productivity of glass can be enhanced while reducing production costs. Less colored glass can be easily obtained because of reduction in volatilization of components and reactions with the crucible or the like.

[Physical Properties]

[0263]

The optical glass according to the first aspect of the invention preferably has a high refractive index and a high Abbe number (low dispersion). In particular, the lower limit of the refractive index (n_d) of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 1.78, more preferably 1.79, and even more preferably 1.80. The upper limit of the refractive index (n_d) of the optical glass according to the invention may be preferably 1.95, more preferably 1.93, and even more preferably 1.90. The lower limit of the Abbe number (ν_d) of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 25, more preferably 27, and even more preferably 29. The upper limit of the Abbe number (ν_d) of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 45, more preferably 43, and even more preferably 41.

[0264]

The optical glass according to the second aspect of the invention preferably has a high refractive index and a high Abbe number (low dispersion). In particular, the lower limit of the refractive index (n_d) of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 1.60, more preferably 1.63, and even more preferably 1.68. The upper limit of the refractive index (n_d) of the optical glass according to the invention may be preferably 1.85, and more preferably 1.84. The lower limit of the Abbe number (ν_d) of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 33, more preferably 35, and even more preferably 37. The upper limit of the Abbe number (ν_d) of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 62, more preferably 57, and even more preferably 55.

[0265]

By having such optical constants, a large amount of light refraction can be obtained even when an optical element is made thinner. By having such low dispersion, defocus (chromatic aberration) due to light wavelengths can be reduced when the optical glass is used as a single lens. Accordingly, when used, for instance, in combination with an optical element having high dispersion (low Abbe number) to form an optical system, aberration can be reduced as a whole of the optical system to achieve high imaging properties.

[0266]

The optical glass of the invention is thus useful in optical design, and particularly when an optical system is formed, the optical system can be downsized while achieving high imaging properties, thus leading to a larger degree of freedom in optical design.

[0267]

The optical glass of the invention preferably has high acid resistance. In particular, the chemical durability (acid resistance) of glass as measured by the powder method according to JOGIS 06-1999 is preferably of Class 1 to Class 3, more preferably of Class 1 to Class 2, and most preferably of Class 1.

[0268]

This reduces glass fogging due to acid rain or the like when the optical glass is used in a vehicle. Accordingly, an optical element can be more easily formed from glass.

[0269]

“Acid resistance” as used herein refers to durability of glass against acid attack, and the acid resistance can be measured by the “Measuring Method for Chemical Durability of Optical Glass” according to Japanese Optical Glass Industrial Standards JOGIS 06-1999. Further, “the chemical durability (acid resistance) as measured by the powder method is of Class 1 to Class 3” means that the chemical durability (acid resistance) as measured according to JOGIS 06-1999 is less than 0.65 mass % in terms of a sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement.

[0270]

In the chemical durability (acid resistance), Class 1 indicates that the sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement is less than 0.20 mass %, Class 2 indicates that the sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement is 0.20 mass % or more but less than 0.35 mass %, Class 3 indicates that the sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement is 0.35 mass % or more but less than 0.65 mass %, Class 4 indicates that the sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement is 0.65 mass % or more but less than 1.20 mass %, Class 5 indicates that the sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement is 1.20 mass % or more but less than 2.20 mass %, and Class 6 indicates that the sample mass reduction ratio between before and after measurement is 2.20 mass % or more.

[0271]

The optical glass of the invention preferably has a low degree of abrasion. The upper limit of the degree of abrasion of the optical glass according to the invention is preferably 200, more preferably 150, even more preferably 100, still more preferably 80, and even still more preferably 60.

[0272]

The degree of abrasion means a value obtained by measurement according to JOGIS 10-1994 “Measuring Method for Degree of Abrasion of Optical Glass.”

[0273]

In the optical glass of the invention, the visible light transmittance, and in particular the light transmittance on the short wavelength side of visible light is preferably high and thereby cause less coloration.

[0274]

Particularly in the optical glass of the invention according to the first aspect, the upper limit of the wavelength (λ₇₀) indicating a spectral transmittance of 70% in terms of glass transmittance in a sample with a thickness of 10 mm is preferably 500 nm, more preferably 480 nm, even more preferably 450 nm, and still more preferably 420 nm.

[0275]

Particularly in the optical glass of the invention according to the second aspect, the upper limit of the wavelength (ζ₈₀) indicating a spectral transmittance of 80% in terms of glass transmittance in a sample with a thickness of 10 mm is preferably 500 nm, more preferably 480 nm, even more preferably 450 nm, and still more preferably 420 nm. In the optical glass of the invention, the upper limit of the shortest wavelength (Xs) indicating a spectral transmittance of 5% in a sample with a thickness of 10 mm is preferably 400 nm, more preferably 380 nm, even more preferably 370 nm, and still more preferably 360 nm.

[0276]

The absorption end of glass is thus located in the ultraviolet region or its vicinity and the transparency of the glass with respect to visible light is enhanced, and the optical glass can be therefore preferably used in an optical element such as a lens that may transmit light.

[Preform Material and Optical Element]

[0277]

A glass molded body can be formed from the produced optical glass using, for instance, polishing processing means, or press molding means such as reheat press molding and precision press molding. More specifically, a glass molded body can be formed by subjecting the optical glass to machining such as grinding and polishing; or by performing polishing processing after performing reheat press molding on a preform for press molding prepared from the optical glass; or by performing precision press molding on a preform prepared by polishing processing or on a preform prepared by known float molding. It should be noted that means for forming the glass molded body is not limited to these means.

[0278]

As described above, the optical glass of the invention is useful in various optical elements and optical design. More particularly, it is preferable to form an optical element such as a lens or a prism by a process which involves forming a preform from the optical glass of the invention and subjecting the preform to reheat press molding or precision press molding. This enables formation of a large-diameter preform. Accordingly, when an optical element is used in an optical instrument such as a camera or a projector, high-definition and high-precision imaging properties and projection properties can be realized while also increasing the size of the optical element.

EXAMPLES

[0279]

Table 1 to Table 7 show results of the composition in each of Examples (No. 1 to No. 43) and Comparative Examples (A, B) of the optical glass according to the first aspect of the invention, as well as the refractive index (n_d), the Abbe number (ν_d), the acid resistance, the degree of abrasion, and the wavelengths (λ₅, λ₇₀) of the glass, the wavelengths indicating spectral transmittances of 5% and 70%, respectively.

[0280]

Table 8 to Table 25 show results of the composition in each of Examples (No. 44 to No. 168) and Comparative Examples (C, D) of the optical glass according to the second aspect of the invention, as well as the refractive index (n_d), the Abbe number (ν_d), the acid resistance, the degree of abrasion, and the wavelengths (λ₅, λ₇₀) of the glass, the wavelengths indicating spectral transmittances of 5% and 80%, respectively.

[0281]

The following examples are only for illustrative purposes and the invention should not be construed as being limited to these examples.

[0282]

The glass in each of Examples of the invention and Comparative Examples was prepared by a process which involves selecting, as component materials, high purity materials used in common optical glass, as exemplified by oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, nitrates, fluorides, hydroxides, and metaphosphate compounds corresponding to the respective components; weighing the materials so as to have a compositional ratio in each of Examples shown in Tables; uniformly mixing the materials; charging the resulting mixture into a platinum crucible; melting the mixture in an electric furnace in a temperature range of 1,100 to 1,550° C. for 2 to 5 hours in accordance with the degree of difficulty in melting the glass materials; stirring the melted mixture for homogenization; casting the mixture into a mold, and allowing the cast mixture to cool slowly.

[0283]

The refractive index (n_d) and the Abbe number (ν_d) of the glass in each of Examples were indicated by values measured with respect to the d-line (587.56 nm) of a helium lamp. Values of the refractive index with respect to the d-line described above, the refractive index (n_F) with respect to the F-line (486.13 nm) of a hydrogen lamp, and the refractive index (n_C) with respect to the C-line (656.27 nm) of the hydrogen lamp were used to calculate the Abbe number (ν_d) from the formula: Abbe number (ν_d)=[(n_d−1)/(n_F−n_c)].

[0284]

The transmittance of the glass in each of Examples and Comparative Examples was measured by the “Measuring Method for Degree of Coloration of Optical Glass” according to the Japanese Optical Glass Industrial Standards JOGIS 02-2003. According to the invention, the transmittance of glass was measured to determine whether or not there was coloration of glass and the degree of coloration. More specifically, polished members facing each other in parallel and having a thickness of 10±0.1 mm were subjected to measurement of the spectral transmittance at 200 to 800 nm according to JIS Z8722 to determine λ₅(wavelength at the transmittance of 5%), λ₆₀(wavelength at the transmittance of 80%), and λ₇₀(wavelength at the transmittance of 70%).

[0285]

The acid resistance of the glass in each of Examples and Comparative Examples was measured by the “Measuring Method for Chemical Durability of Optical Glass” according to the Japanese Optical Glass Industrial Standards JOGIS 06-1999. More specifically, a glass sample broken to a particle size of 425 to 600 μm was put in a specific gravity bottle and the bottle was placed in a platinum basket. The platinum basket was placed in a quartz glass round-bottom flask containing 0.01 N aqueous nitric acid solution, and treated for 60 minutes in a boiled water bath. The mass reduction ratio (mass %) of the glass sample after the treatment was calculated, and was classified as Class 1 when the mass reduction ratio (mass %) was less than 0.20; as Class 2 when the mass reduction ratio was 0.20 or more but less than 0.35; as Class 3 when the mass reduction ratio was 0.35 or more but less than 0.65; as Class 4 when the mass reduction ratio was 0.65 or more but less than 1.20; as Class 5 when the mass reduction ratio was 1.20 or more but less than 2.20; and as Class 6 when the mass reduction ratio was 2.20 or more. In this regard, a smaller class number means more excellent acid resistance of glass.

[0286]

The degree of abrasion was measured by the “Measuring Method for Degree of Abrasion of Optical Glass” according to JOGIS 10-1994. More specifically, a sample of a glass square sheet with a size of 30×30×10 mm was placed on a cast-iron flat disk (diameter: 250 mm) rotating horizontally at 60 rpm at a predetermined position 80 mm apart from its center; a polishing liquid obtained by adding 10 g of a lapping material (alumina A abrasive grains) with a grit size of #800 (average grain size: 20 μm) to 20 mL of water was uniformly supplied to the sample to cause friction while vertically applying a load of 9.8 N (1 kgf); the mass of the sample was measured before and after lapping to determine the abrasion mass; the abrasion mass of a reference sample designated by Japan optical Glass Manufacturers' Association was determined in the same manner; and the degree of abrasion was calculated by the formula:

[0000]

Degree of abrasion={(abrasion mass of sample/specific gravity)/(abrasion mass of reference sample/specific gravity)}×100.

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃		10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00
Y₂O₃				4.24	4.24	4.24	4.24
La₂O₃	20.06	20.06	25.06	25.06	28.06	32.01	35.01
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04	9.04
ZrO₂	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44
Nb₂O₅	6.95	6.95	6.95	6.95	3.95
WO₃
ZnO	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58
MgO
CaO	19.24	9.24	4.24
SrO
BaO
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	20.060	20.060	25.060	29.305	32.305	36.251	39.251
RO	19.245	9.245	4.245	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	6.946	6.946	6.946	6.946	3.946	0.000	0.000
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	25.96	25.96	25.96	25.96	22.96	19.02	19.02
Ti + Zr	19.47	19.47	19.47	19.48	19.48	19.47	16.48
λ₇₀[nm]	418	436	441	434.5	429	423	411
λ₅[nm]	363	372	375.5	374	372	368	361
Refractive index (n_d)	1.854	1.825	1.835	1.848	1.843	1.836	1.823
Abbe number (ν_d)	32.7	32.4	31.8	31.8	32.9	34.4	36.7
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	125	65	63	63	62	58	59

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	8	9	10	11	12	13	14

SiO₂	22.50	22.72	22.27	22.72	22.27	22.50	22.95
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃			0.99		0.99	1.00
Y₂O₃
La₂O₃	20.06	20.26	19.86	20.26	19.86	20.06	20.46
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	12.04	12.16	11.92	12.16	11.92	12.04	12.28
ZrO₂	7.44	7.51	7.37	7.51	7.37	7.44	7.59
Nb₂O₅	6.95	7.02	6.88	7.02	6.88	6.95	7.08
WO₃
ZnO
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO	28.87	29.16	28.58	29.16	28.58	28.87	29.44
Li₂O	1.96	0.97	1.94	0.97	1.94	0.96
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	20.060	20.262	19.861	20.262	19.861	20.060	20.460
RO	28.867	29.159	28.581	29.159	28.581	28.867	29.443
Rn₂O	1.956	0.966	1.937	0.966	1.937	0.956	0.000
B + Nb	6.946	7.016	6.877	7.016	6.877	6.946	7.084
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	14.38	14.53	14.24	14.53	14.24	14.38	14.67
Ti + Zr	19.47	19.67	19.28	19.67	19.28	19.47	19.86
λ₇₀[nm]	418.5	427.5	417.5	422	413	417.5	446.5
λ₅[nm]	364	369.5	363	366	362	366	374.5
Refractive index (n_d)	1.848	1.853	1.843	1.853	1.843	1.847	1.852
Abbe number (ν_d)	32.2	32.0	32.4	32.0	32.4	32.1	31.8
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	140	134	136	127	130	127	122

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	15	16	17	18	19	20	21

SiO₂	23.68	25.00	22.95	20.82	22.26	25.55	21.83
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃					2.97
Y₂O₃
La₂O₃	21.12	22.29	20.46	27.82	19.85	22.78	24.32
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	12.67	13.37	12.28	11.14	11.91	13.67	11.68
ZrO₂	7.83	8.27	7.59	6.89	7.36	8.45	7.22
Nb₂O₅	7.31	7.72	7.08	6.43	6.87	7.89	6.74
WO₃
ZnO
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO	25.12	20.96	29.44	26.72	28.57	21.43	28.01
Li₂O	2.06	2.17
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.21	0.22	0.20	0.18	0.20	0.23	0.19
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	21.116	22.289	20.460	27.822	19.853	22.784	24.320
RO	25.123	20.963	29.443	26.718	28.569	21.429	28.014
Rn₂O	2.059	2.174	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	7.311	7.718	7.084	6.429	6.874	7.889	6.741
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	15.14	15.98	14.67	13.31	14.24	16.34	13.96
Ti + Zr	20.50	21.64	19.86	18.03	19.27	22.12	18.90
λ₇₀[nm]	423.5	425.5	441	452	445	449	439
λ₅[nm]	367	369	374	374	373	379	373
Refractive index (n_d)	1.851	1.852	1.852	1.866	1.834	1.854	1.859
Abbe number (ν_d)	31.8	31.3	31.8	32.5	32.3	30.6	32.1
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	123	126	115	116	125	125	124

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	22	23	24	25	26	27	28

SiO₂	22.50	22.26	26.47	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃		2.97
Y₂O₃
La₂O₃	20.06	19.85	23.60	20.06	20.06	20.06	20.06
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	12.04	11.91	14.16	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04
ZrO₂	7.44	7.36	8.75	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44
Nb₂O₅	6.95	6.87	8.17	6.95	6.95	6.95	6.95
WO₃
ZnO					1.96	1.96	16.39
MgO
CaO
SrO				14.43		14.43
BaO	28.87	28.57	16.31	14.43	28.87	14.43	14.43
Li₂O	1.96		2.30	1.96
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.23	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	20.060	19.853	23.600	20.060	20.060	20.060	20.060
RO	28.867	28.569	16.314	28.868	28.867	28.868	14.434
Rn₂O	1.956	0.000	2.302	1.956	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	6.946	6.874	8.172	6.946	6.946	6.946	6.946
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	14.38	14.24	16.92	14.38	16.34	16.34	30.77
Ti + Zr	19.47	19.27	22.91	19.47	19.48	19.47	19.47
λ₇₀[nm]	414	452	433	430	446	446	450
λ₅[nm]	362	374	373	365	375	371	377
Refractive index (n_d)	1.848	1.835	1.853	1.843	1.854	1.849	1.872
Abbe number (ν_d)	32.3	32.2	30.7	32.7	31.8	32.2	30.6
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	129	119	123	127	126	128	121

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	29	30	31	32	33	34	35

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃
Y₂O₃
La₂O₃	20.06	20.06	20.06	20.06	20.06	20.06	20.06
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04	12.04
ZrO₂	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44
Nb₂O₅	6.95	6.95	6.95	6.95	6.95	6.95	6.95
WO₃
ZnO	1.96	1.96	16.39	16.39	11.58	9.17	11.58
MgO
CaO	7.22	9.62		14.43	19.24	21.65	19.24
SrO			14.43
BaO	21.65	19.24
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	20.060	20.060	20.060	20.060	20.060	20.060	20.060
RO	28.867	28.867	14.434	14.434	19.245	21.650	19.245
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	6.946	6.946	6.946	6.946	6.946	6.946	6.946
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	16.34	16.34	30.77	30.77	25.96	23.56	25.96
Ti + Zr	19.47	19.47	19.47	19.47	19.47	19.47	19.47
λ₇₀[nm]	431	427	436	426	421	421	426
λ₅[nm]	370	367	373	366	362	360	366
Refractive index (n_d)	1.851	1.849	1.869	1.865	1.854	1.848	1.855
Abbe number (ν_d)	32.5	32.6	31.0	31.9	32.7	33.1	32.7
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	2	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	132	122	126	128	128	129	125

[0000]


		Comparative	Comparative
	Example	Example	Example	Example
(Unit: mass %)	36	37	38	A	B	39	40

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	24.90	4.000	0.500	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃				40.000	14.000		6.00
Al₂O₃						10.00	10.00
Y₂O₃				12.000		4.24	4.25
La₂O₃	20.06	20.06	20.06	35.950		35.01	41.01
Gd₂O₃				2.000		3.00
TiO₂	12.04	12.04	12.04			6.04	3.04
ZrO₂	7.44	7.44	7.44			7.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅	6.95	6.95	6.95
WO₃
ZnO	21.20	26.01	23.60			11.58	8.58
MgO					5.000
CaO	9.62	4.81	4.81	2.000	3.500
SrO				3.000	18.000
BaO					21.000
Li₂O				1.000	1.500
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅					33.000
TaO₅					3.500
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.050		0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	10.000	28.000	0.000	0.267
Ln₂O₃	20.060	20.060	20.060	49.950	0.000	42.251	45.250
RO	9.622	4.811	4.810	5.000	47.500	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	1.000	1.500	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	6.946	6.946	6.950	40.000	14.000	0.000	6.000
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	35.59	40.40	37.99	0.00	0.00	19.02	13.02
Ti + Zr	19.48	19.48	19.48	0.00	0.00	13.48	7.48
λ₇₀[nm]	427	421	421	324	346	399	384
λ₅[nm]	367	360	362	262	322	352	342
Refractive index (n_d)	1.874	1.864	1.882	1.701	1.610	1.809	1.753
Abbe number (ν_d)	31.2	30.9	30.4	56.0	62.8	39.4	45.1
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	4	5	1	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	122	123	121	70	272	51	46

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	41	42	43

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃	10.00	10.00	10.00
Y₂O₃	4.24	4.24	4.25
La₂O₃	44.50	35.01	20.01
Gd₂O₃			15.00
TiO₂	5.54	6.04	9.04
ZrO₂	4.44	1.44	7.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃		3.00
ZnO	8.58	11.58	11.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	48.750	39.251	39.250
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	0.000	0.000	0.000
Zr + Nb + W + Zn	13.02	22.02	19.02
Ti + Zr	9.98	13.48	16.48
λ₇₀[nm]	401	398	452
λ₅[nm]	350	358	374
Refractive index (n_d)	1.806	1.810	1.820
Abbe number (ν_d)	40.5	38.5	36.8
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	38	53	50

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	43	44	45	46	47	48	49

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	25.50	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00
Y₂O₃	4.24	7.24	4.24	4.24	4.24	4.24	4.24
La₂O₃	38.01	35.01	35.01	35.01	35.01	38.01	38.01
Gd₂O₃			3.00
TiO₂	6.04	6.04	6.04	6.04	6.04	6.04	6.04
ZrO₂	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃				3.00
ZnO	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58	11.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	42.251	42.251	42.251	39.251	39.251	42.251	42.251
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
λ₇₀[nm]	442	451	442	445	430	2317	517
λ₅[nm]	352	352	352	358	353	353	353
Refractive index (n_d)	1.810	1.810	1.809	1.810	1.788	1.810	1.810
Abbe number (ν_d)	39.4	39.5	39.4	38.5	40.1	39.4	39.4
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	55	51	51	53	52	53	48

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	50	51	52	53	54	55	56

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.54	22.54	22.50	22.45
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.02	10.02	10.00	9.98
Y₂O₃	4.24	4.24	4.24	4.25	4.25	4.24	4.24
La₂O₃	38.51	41.51	41.51	41.59	41.59	41.51	41.42
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	5.54	5.54	5.54	5.55	5.55	5.54	5.52
ZrO₂	7.44	7.44	7.44	7.45	7.45	7.44	7.42
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	11.58	8.58	8.58	8.60	8.60	8.58	8.56
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20				0.20
SnO₂						0.20	0.20
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	42.751	45.750	45.750	45.842	45.842	45.750	45.659
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
λ₇₀[nm]	431	505	2317	472	454	481	447
λ₅[nm]	351	351	351	346	346	345	351
Refractive index (n_d)	1.808	1.811	1.810	1.810	1.809	1.810	1.810
Abbe number (ν_d)	39.9	40.1	40.0	40.0	40.2	40.1	40.2
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	47	47	44	42	43	40	42

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	57	58	59	60	61	62	63

SiO₂	22.32	22.32	22.52	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50
B₂O₃
Al₂O₃	9.92	9.92	10.01	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00
Y₂O₃	4.21	4.21	4.25	4.24	4.25	4.24	4.24
La₂O₃	41.18	41.18	41.55	44.50	44.01	41.51	41.51
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	5.49	5.49	5.54	5.54	6.04	5.54	5.54
ZrO₂	7.38	7.38	7.45	4.44	4.44	7.44	7.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	8.51	8.51	8.59	8.58	8.58	8.58	8.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.99	0.99	0.10	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ln₂O₃	45.387	45.387	45.796	48.750	48.250	45.750	45.750
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
λ₇₀[nm]	447	498	449	506	475	443	470
λ₅[nm]	363.5	364	348	350	351	352	352
Refractive index (n_d)	1.811	1.810	1.810	1.806	1.808	1.809	1.809
Abbe number (ν_d)	39.9	39.8	40.1	40.5	40.1	40.1	40.1
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	42	39	40	38	39	42	44

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	64	65	66	67	68	69	70

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	22.50	25.50
B₂O₃		3.00			6.00	6.00	6.00
Al₂O₃	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	7.00
Y₂O₃	4.24	4.25	4.24	4.25	4.25	7.25	7.25
La₂O₃	41.51	44.01	41.51	39.01	41.01	41.01	41.01
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂	5.54	3.04	5.54	6.04	3.04	3.04	3.04
ZrO₂	7.44	4.44	7.44	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	8.58	8.58	8.58	13.58	8.58	5.58	5.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃		0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂	0.20
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.000	0.133	0.000	0.000	0.267	0.267	0.235
Ln₂O₃	45.750	48.250	45.750	43.250	45.250	48.250	48.250
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	0.000	3.000	0.000	0.000	6.000	6.000	6.000
λ₇₀[nm]	461	416	460	455	409	409	412
λ₅[nm]	345	342	353	354	342	342	343
Refractive index (n_d)	1.809	1.774	1.810	1.805	1.753	1.756	1.749
Abbe number (ν_d)	40.1	44.1	40.1	39.7	45.1	45.3	45.6
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	2	1	1	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	44	49	42	46	46	48	48

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	71	72	73	74	75	76	77

SiO₂	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50	26.00	26.00
B₂O₃	6.00	5.50	5.00	5.00	5.00	4.50	4.50
Al₂O₃	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00
Y₂O₃	10.28	10.28	10.28	10.28	10.28	10.28	10.28
La₂O₃	41.01	41.01	41.01	41.01	41.01	41.01	38.01
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	8.58
MgO
CaO				0.50
SrO
BaO					0.50
Li₂O		0.50	1.00	0.50	0.50	1.00	1.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.235	0.216	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.173	0.173
Ln₂O₃	51.286	51.286	51.286	51.286	51.286	51.286	48.286
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.500	0.500	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.500	1.000	0.500	0.500	1.000	1.000
B + Nb	6.000	5.500	5.000	5.000	5.000	4.500	4.500
λ₇₀[nm]	379	381	379	380	381	379	379
λ₅[nm]	296	299	298	299	299	298	298
Refractive index (n_d)	1.736	1.737	1.738	1.740	1.739	1.739	1.736
Abbe number (ν_d)	49.6	49.7	49.7	49.6	49.5	49.5	49.3
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	3	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	49	50	51	50	52	52	50

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	78	79	80	81	82	83	84

SiO₂	26.00	15.60	24.16	26.00	24.16	25.50	25.50
B₂O₃	4.50	9.56		4.50		8.00	5.00
Al₂O₃	7.00			4.00		4.00	7.00
Y₂O₃	10.28	8.60	8.72	10.28	8.72	10.28	13.28
La₂O₃	38.01	33.27	33.71	38.01	33.71	41.01	38.01
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂		5.07	5.13		2.13
ZrO₂	4.44	2.87	2.91	4.44	2.91	4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	9.58	25.00	25.34	12.58	28.34	5.58	5.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O						1.00	1.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.03	0.03	0.20	0.03	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.173	0.613	0.000	0.173	0.000	0.314	0.196
Ln₂O₃	48.286	41.871	42.423	48.286	42.423	51.286	51.286
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	1.000	1.000
B + Nb	4.500	9.556	0.000	4.500	0.000	8.000	5.000
λ₇₀[nm]	382	437	435	376	403	369	376
λ₅[nm]	299	346	345	292	333	289	296
Refractive index (n_d)	1.740	1.815	1.830	1.751	1.813	1.732	1.739
Abbe number (ν_d)	49.1	40.0	39.0	48.4	41.6	50.2	49.6
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	3	2	2	2	2	1
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	53	112	120	54	117	56	54

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	85	86	87	88	89	90	91

SiO₂	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50
B₂O₃	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
Al₂O₃	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00	7.00
Y₂O₃	7.28	16.28	19.28	16.28	22.28	19.28	25.28
La₂O₃	44.01	35.01	32.01	37.01	29.01	34.01	26.01
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂	4.44	4.44	4.44	2.44	4.44	2.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196
Ln₂O₃	51.286	51.286	51.286	53.286	51.286	53.286	51.286
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
B + Nb	5.000	5.000	5.000	5.000	5.000	5.000	5.000
λ₇₀[nm]	376	378	379	377	379	377	379
λ₅[nm]	297	296	297	297	297	297	297
Refractive index (n_d)	1.739	1.739	1.739	1.737	1.740	1.738	1.740
Abbe number (ν_d)	49.5	49.6	49.7	50.1	49.7	50.0	49.8
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	48	49	51	48	52	51	50

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	92	93	94	95	96	97	98

SiO₂	26.28	24.75	24.75	24.75	24.75	25.50	24.75
B₂O₃	5.15	4.85	4.85	4.85	4.85	5.00	4.85
Al₂O₃	4.12	6.80	6.80	6.80	6.80	7.00	6.80
Y₂O₃	26.06	18.72	18.72	18.72	18.72	19.28	18.72
La₂O₃	26.81	31.07	31.07	31.07	31.07	32.01	31.07
Gd₂O₃							2.91
TiO₂
ZrO₂	4.58	4.31	4.31	4.31	4.31	2.44	4.31
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	5.75	5.42	5.42	5.42	5.42	7.58	5.42
MgO		2.91
CaO			2.91
SrO				2.91
BaO					2.91
Li₂O	1.03	0.97	0.97	0.97	0.97	1.00	0.97
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.21	0.19	0.19	0.19	0.19	0.20	0.19
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196
Ln₂O₃	52.872	49.792	49.792	49.792	49.792	51.286	52.705
RO	0.000	2.913	2.913	2.913	2.913	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.031	0.971	0.971	0.971	0.971	1.000	0.971
B + Nb	5.155	4.854	4.854	4.854	4.854	5.000	4.854
λ₇₀[nm]	379	382	377	376	379	377	375
λ₅[nm]	297	297	296	295	296	294	294
Refractive index (n_d)	1.742	1.740	1.740	1.736	1.745	1.732	1.732
Abbe number (ν_d)	49.8	49.5	49.6	50.0	49.6	50.4	50.4
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	1	1	1	2	1	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	52	54	53	53	52	55	51

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	99	100	101	102	103	104	105

SiO₂	25.50	25.50	24.28	25.50	23.18	23.18	25.50
B₂O₃	5.00	5.00	4.76	5.00	4.55	4.55	9.50
Al₂O₃	7.00	7.00	6.67	7.00	6.36	6.36	7.00
Y₂O₃	19.28	22.28	18.36	19.28	17.53	17.53	19.28
La₂O₃	32.01	29.01	30.48	32.01	29.10	29.10	32.01
Gd₂O₃			4.76
TiO₂
ZrO₂
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	10.02	10.02	9.54	10.02	9.11	9.11	5.52
MgO					9.09
CaO
SrO
BaO						9.09
Li₂O	1.00	1.00	0.95		0.91	0.91	1.00
Na₂O				1.00
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.19	0.20	0.18	0.18	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.196	0.373
Ln₂O₃	51.286	51.286	53.606	51.286	46.624	46.624	51.286
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	9.091	9.091	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	1.000	0.952	1.000	0.909	0.909	1.000
B + Nb	5.000	5.000	4.762	5.000	4.545	4.545	9.500
λ₇₀[nm]	371	379	379	379	370	370	370
λ₅[nm]	288	295	296	294	227	227	227
Refractive index (n_d)	1.738	1.741	1.726	1.736	1.706	1.706	1.708
Abbe number (ν_d)	50.2	50.0	50.1	49.9	52.2	51.9	52.3
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	1	1	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	52	53	52	54	55	55	51

[0000]


		Comparative
	Example	Example	Example
(Unit: mass %)	106	A	107	108	109	110	111

SiO₂	31.50	4.000	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50	25.50
B₂O₃	6.50	40.000	9.50	9.50	9.50	9.50	9.50
Al₂O₃	7.00		10.00	12.00	12.52	7.00	12.52
Y₂O₃	19.28	12.000	19.28	19.28	19.28	19.28	19.28
La₂O₃	29.01	35.950	32.01	32.01	32.01	45.01	42.01
Gd₂O₃		2.000
TiO₂
ZrO₂
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	5.52		2.52	0.52		2.52
MgO
CaO		2.000
SrO		3.000
BaO
Li₂O	1.00	1.000	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.050	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	110.000	110.000
B/Si	0.206	10.000	0.373	0.373	0.373	0.373	0.373
Ln₂O₃	48.286	40.950	51.286	51.286	51.286	64.286	61.286
RO	0.000	5.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
B + Nb	6.500	40.000	9.500	9.500	9.500	9.500	9.500
λ₇₀[nm]	370	348	373	375	375	374	379
λ₅[nm]	292	262	297	301	301	293	302
Refractive index (n_d)	1.721	1.701	1.696	1.690	1.688	1.733	1.712
Abbe number (ν_d)	51.7	56.0	52.7	53.1	53.1	51.4	52.2
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	4	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	53	70	53	52	49	50	52

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	112	113	114	115	116	117	118

SiO₂	25.50	24.50	22.21	25.50	25.50	17.50	17.50
B₂O₃	9.50	9.50	12.63	9.50	10.50	5.00	5.00
Al₂O₃	9.52	9.52	10.90	8.52	9.52	10.00	10.00
Y₂O₃	19.28	19.28	16.80	19.28	19.28	4.25	9.25
La₂O₃	35.01	35.01	36.59	35.01	35.01	44.51	39.51
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂						5.54	5.54
ZrO₂						4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO						8.58	8.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	1.00	2.00	0.87	2.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20		0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.00	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.373	0.388	0.569	0.373	0.412	0.286	0.286
Ln₂O₃	54.286	54.286	53.385	54.286	54.286	48.750	48.750
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	2.000	0.871	2.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
B + Nb	9.500	9.500	12.631	9.500	10.500	5.000	5.000
λ₇₀[nm]	374	374	398	397	398	448	451
λ₅[nm]	297	297	306	301	303	351	352
Refractive index (n_d)	1.700	1.702	1.696	1.699	1.696	1.806	1.806
Abbe number (ν_d)	52.8	52.6	53.2	52.6	52.7	40.8	40.9
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	52	52	53	52	52	50	49

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	119	120	121	122	123	124	125

SiO₂	22.50	22.50	19.50	16.50	16.50	22.21	26.21
B₂O₃	8.00	5.00	11.00	14.00	8.00	12.50	4.50
Al₂O₃	7.00	10.00	7.00	7.00	13.00	10.90	14.90
Y₂O₃	16.28	16.28	16.28	16.28	16.28	16.80	16.80
La₂O₃	35.01	35.01	35.01	35.01	35.01	36.59	36.59
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58	5.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.10	0.10
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.100	100.100
B/Si	0.356	0.222	0.564	0.849	0.485	0.563	0.172
Ln₂O₃	51.286	51.286	51.286	51.286	51.286	53.385	53.385
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
B + Nb	8.000	5.000	11.000	14.000	8.000	12.502	4.502
λ₇₀[nm]	376	387	384	385	392	380	394
λ₅[nm]	296	307	310	310	317	310	317
Refractive index (n_d)	1.739	1.745	1.730	1.732	1.749	1.692	1.699
Abbe number (ν_d)	49.9	49.3	49.9	49.9	49.2	53.3	52.2
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	3	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	49	50	48	48	50	52	51

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	126	127	128	129	130	131	132

SiO₂	16.50	16.50	23.21	22.21	13.50	16.50	22.21
B₂O₃	8.00	8.00	7.50	12.50	8.00	5.00	12.63
Al₂O₃	13.00	13.00	14.90	10.90	16.00	16.00	10.90
Y₂O₃	13.28	19.28	16.80	16.80	16.28	16.28	16.80
La₂O₃	38.01	32.01	36.59	36.59	35.01	35.01	36.59
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂	4.44	4.44			4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO	5.58	5.58			5.58	5.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.87
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20		0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.200	100.000	100.000	100.001
B/Si	0.485	0.485	0.323	0.563	0.593	0.303	0.569
Ln₂O₃	51.286	51.286	53.385	53.385	51.286	51.286	53.385
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.872
B + Nb	8.000	8.000	7.502	12.502	8.000	5.000	12.631
λ₇₀[nm]	390	396	387	381	399	402	383
λ₅[nm]	317	318	314	310	323	324	311
Refractive index (n_d)	1.747	1.748	1.703	1.697	1.755	1.756	1.696
Abbe number (ν_d)	48.6	49.0	52.6	53.0	48.6	48.3	53.1
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	52	52	49	51	48	48	49

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	133	134	135	136	137	138	139

SiO₂	22.21	23.21	22.21	23.21	23.21	21.77	22.21
B₂O₃	12.63	12.63	12.63	12.63	12.63	12.38	12.63
Al₂O₃	9.90	8.90	10.90	8.90	8.90	10.69	10.90
Y₂O₃	16.80	16.80	16.80	17.80	15.80	16.47	16.80
La₂O₃	37.59	37.59	36.59	36.59	38.59	36.85	37.09
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO			1.00			0.98	0.50
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	0.87	0.87	0.87	0.87	0.87	0.85	0.87
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃
SnO₂
Total	100.001	100.001	101.001	100.001	100.001	100.000	101.001
B/Si	0.569	0.544	0.569	0.544	0.544	0.569	0.569
Ln₂O₃	54.385	54.385	53.385	54.385	54.385	53.318	53.885
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.872	0.872	0.872	0.872	0.872	0.855	0.872
B + Nb	12.631	12.631	12.631	12.631	12.631	12.383	12.631
λ₇₀[nm]	382	380	383	380	380	383	383
λ₅[nm]	309	307	311	307	308	311	312
Refractive index (n_d)	1.700	1.698	1.701	1.699	1.699	1.704	1.702
Abbe number (ν_d)	53.0	53.0	52.9	53.0	53.0	52.6	52.7
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	51	52	52	51	50	51	49

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	140	141	142	143	144	145	146

SiO₂	23.21	21.88	22.16	22.16	23.16	22.16	22.16
B₂O₃	12.63	12.44	12.61	12.61	11.61	12.61	12.61
Al₂O₃	8.90	10.74	10.88	10.88	10.88	10.88	10.88
Y₂O₃	14.80	16.55	17.76	15.76	16.76	18.76	19.76
La₂O₃	39.59	36.05	35.52	37.51	36.52	34.52	33.52
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO		0.99
MgO
CaO		0.49
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	0.87	0.86	0.87	0.87	0.87	0.87	0.87
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃			0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.001	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.544	0.569	0.569	0.569	0.501	0.569	0.569
Ln₂O₃	54.385	52.596	53.278	53.278	53.278	53.278	53.278
RO	0.000	0.493	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.872	0.859	0.870	0.870	0.870	0.870	0.870
B + Nb	12.631	12.444	12.606	12.606	11.608	12.606	12.606
λ₇₀[nm]	380	383	383	383	383	383	383
λ₅[nm]	308	311	311	312	312	311	311
Refractive index (n_d)	1.699	1.699	1.696	1.696	1.696	1.696	1.697
Abbe number (ν_d)	53.1	53.0	53.0	53.1	53.0	53.2	53.2
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	50	51	52	52	49	50	51

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	147	148	149	150	151	152	153

SiO₂	23.16	16.50	21.21	21.21	21.21	23.71	24.21
B₂O₃	11.61	8.00	11.50	11.50	11.50	7.50	5.50
Al₂O₃	10.88	13.00	9.90	9.90	9.90	14.90	15.90
Y₂O₃	16.76	6.28	15.80	15.80	15.80	16.80	16.80
La₂O₃	36.52	35.01	35.59	35.59	35.59	36.59	36.59
Gd₂O₃		10.00
TiO₂
ZrO₂		4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO		5.58
MgO
CaO			5.00
SrO					5.00
BaO				5.00
Li₂O	0.87	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.50	1.00
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.501	0.485	0.542	0.542	0.542	0.316	0.227
Ln₂O₃	53.278	51.286	51.385	51.385	51.385	53.385	53.385
RO	0.000	0.000	5.000	5.000	5.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.870	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.500	1.000
B + Nb	11.608	8.000	11.502	11.502	11.502	7.502	5.502
λ₇₀[nm]	384	395	382	383	382	391	390.5
λ₅[nm]	312	321	310	312	311	318	318.5
Refractive index (n_d)	1.696	1.745	1.707	1.701	1.703	1.702	1.705
Abbe number (ν_d)	53.0	49.1	52.5	52.7	52.7	52.6	52.1
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	51	53	57	56	57	53	49

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	154	155	156	157	158	159	160

SiO₂	21.21	24.71	26.21	26.21	26.21	22.21	24.71
B₂O₃	11.50	5.50	5.50	5.50	5.50	12.63	5.50
Al₂O₃	9.90	15.90	13.90	13.90	13.90	11.90	15.90
Y₂O₃	15.80	16.80	16.80	15.80	17.80	16.80	17.30
La₂O₃	35.59	36.59	36.59	37.59	35.59	35.59	36.09
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO
MgO	5.00
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	1.00	0.50	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.87	0.50
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.001	100.000
B/Si	0.542	0.223	0.210	0.210	0.210	0.569	0.223
Ln₂O₃	51.385	53.385	53.385	53.385	53.385	52.385	53.385
RO	5.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	1.000	0.500	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.872	0.500
B + Nb	11.502	5.502	5.502	5.502	5.502	12.631	5.502
λ₇₀[nm]	382.5	393	387.5	388	387	383.5	393.5
λ₅[nm]	310.5	319.5	316	316.5	315.5	311.5	319
Refractive index (n_d)	1.706	1.705	1.702	1.701	1.702	1.693	1.706
Abbe number (ν_d)	52.7	52.0	52.3	52.4	52.4	53.3	52.3
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	56	48	52	54	53	51	52

[0000]


	Example
(Unit: mass %)	161	162	163	164	165	166	167

SiO₂	24.71	23.21	23.21	23.00	21.00	22.21	22.21
B₂O₃	5.50	12.63	12.63	5.00	5.00	12.63	12.63
Al₂O₃	15.90	11.90	11.90	10.00	12.00	11.70	12.00
Y₂O₃	16.30	16.80	16.80	16.28	16.28	16.80	16.80
La₂O₃	37.09	34.59	34.59	35.01	35.01	35.79	35.49
Gd₂O₃
TiO₂
ZrO₂				4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅
WO₃
ZnO				5.58	5.58
MgO
CaO
SrO
BaO
Li₂O	0.50	0.87	0.87	0.50	0.50	0.87	0.87
Na₂O
K₂O
P₂O₅
TaO₅
Sb₂O₃				0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.001	100.001	100.000	100.000	100.001	100.001
B/Si	0.223	0.544	0.544	0.217	0.238	0.569	0.569
Ln₂O₃	53.385	51.385	51.385	51.286	51.286	52.585	52.285
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Rn₂O	0.500	0.872	0.872	0.500	0.500	0.872	0.872
B + Nb	5.502	12.631	12.631	5.000	5.000	12.631	12.631
λ₇₀[nm]	393	381	382.5	391.5	396	382	383
λ₅[nm]	318.5	311	312	315	318.5	311	312
Refractive index (n_d)	1.705	1.687	1.689	1.745	1.748	1.693	1.692
Abbe number (ν_d)	51.8	53.3	53.5	49.3	49.1	53.1	53.2
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	49	53	55	56	54	53	54

[0000]


		Comparative
	Example	Example
(Unit: mass %)	168	169	170	D

SiO₂	22.50	14.50	14.50	0.50
B₂O₃	5.00	9.00	9.00	14.00
Al₂O₃	10.00	11.00	11.00
Y₂O₃	6.28
La₂O₃	35.01	33.01	33.01
Gd₂O₃	10.00	16.28	19.28
TiO₂
ZrO₂	4.44	4.44	4.44
Nb₂O₅		5.00
WO₃
ZnO	5.58	5.58	5.58
MgO				5.00
CaO				3.50
SrO				18.00
BaO				21.00
Li₂O	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.50
Na₂O			1.00
K₂O			1.00
P₂O₅				33.00
TaO₅				3.50
Sb₂O₃	0.20	0.20	0.20
SnO₂
Total	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
B/Si	0.222	0.621	0.621	28.000
Ln₂O₃	51.286	49.286	52.286	0.000
RO	0.000	0.000	0.000	47.500
Rn₂O	1.000	1.000	3.000	1.500
B + Nb	5.000	14.000	9.000	14.000
λ₇₀[nm]	391	395	517	378
λ₅[nm]	316	321	351	322
Refractive index (n_d)	1.740	1.769	1.737	1.610
Abbe number (ν_d)	49.2	45.3	48.4	62.8
Acid resistance (RA_(P))	2	2	2	5
Degree of abrasion (Aa)	55	62	68	272

[0287]

As is shown in Tables, the optical glass in each of Examples according to the first aspect of the invention has a mass ratio (B₂O₃/SiO₂) of not more than 1.0 and has therefore acid resistance of Class 1 to Class 3. On the other hand, the glass in each of Comparative Examples A and B has poor acid resistance because the mass ratio (B₂O₃/SiO₂) exceeds 1.0.

[0288]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the first aspect of the invention, the refractive index (n_d) was not less than 1.78 and more specifically not less than 1.80, and not more than 1.95 and more specifically not more than 1.93, and was thus within the desired range.

[0289]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the first aspect of the invention, the Abbe number (ν_d) was not more than 45 and more specifically not more than 40, and not less than 25 and more specifically not less than 28, and was thus within the desired range.

[0290]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the first aspect of the invention, λ₇₀(wavelength at the transmittance of 70%) was not more than 500 nm and more specifically not more than 480 nm. In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the invention, λ₅(wavelength at the transmittance of 5%) was not more than 400 nm and more specifically not more than 380 nm, and was within the desired range.

[0291]

As is shown in Tables, the optical glass in each of Examples according to the second aspect of the invention has a mass ratio (B₂O₃/SiO₂) of not more than 1.0 and has therefore acid resistance of Class 1 to Class 3. On the other hand, the glass in each of Comparative Examples A and B has poor acid resistance because the mass ratio (B₂O₃/SiO₂) exceeds 1.0.

[0292]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the second aspect of the invention, the refractive index (n_d) was not less than 1.60 but not more than 1.85, and was thus within the desired range.

[0293]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the second aspect of the invention, the Abbe number (ν_d) was not more than 62 and more specifically not more than 57, and not less than 33 and more specifically not less than 35, and was thus within the desired range.

[0294]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the second aspect of the invention, the degree of abrasion was not more than 200.

[0295]

Accordingly, it turned out that the optical glass in each of Examples of the invention has high abrasion resistance and is less likely to have surface flaws when used as a lens.

[0296]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the second aspect of the invention, λ₈₀(wavelength at the transmittance of 80%) was not more than 500 nm and more specifically not more than 490 nm. In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the invention, λ₅(wavelength at the transmittance of 5%) was not more than 400 nm and more specifically not more than 390 nm, and was within the desired range.

[0297]

In the optical glass in each of Examples according to the invention, the degree of abrasion was not more than 200.

[0298]

Accordingly, it turned out that the optical glass in each of Examples of the invention has high abrasion resistance and is less likely to have surface flaws when used as a lens.

[0299]

Accordingly, in the optical glass in each of Examples according to the invention, the chemical durability (acid resistance) as measured by the powder method was of Class 1 to Class 3 while the refractive index (n_d) and the Abbe number (ν_d) were also within desired ranges. Consequently, it turned out that the optical glass in each of Examples of the invention has excellent chemical durability (acid resistance).

[0300]

In addition, the optical glass in each of Examples according to the invention was used to form glass blocks, which were then subjected to grinding and polishing to be formed into lens and prism shapes. As a result, the optical glass could be stably formed into various lens and prism shapes.

[0301]

While the present invention has been described above in detail for illustrative purposes, the examples are only for illustrative purposes, and it should be understood that a person skilled in the art could make many modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Provided is glass having a predetermined index of refraction (nd) and Abbe number (νd), high chemical resistance (acid resistance) and a small degree of abrasion. The optical glass contains, in wt %, 10.0-40.0% of a SiO2 component, 15.0-50.0% of a La2O3 component and 5.0% to less than 25.0% of a TiO2 component, has a mass ratio B2O3/SiO2 less than or equal to 1.00, an index of refraction (nd) of 1.78-1.95 and an Abbe number (νd) of 25-45, and chemical resistance (acid resistance) via a powder method that is class 1-3. The optical glass has a degree of abrasion of less than or equal to 200.

1. An optical glass comprising, by mass %:

10.0% to 40.0% of an SiO₂component;

15.0% to 50.0% of an La₂O₃component; and

5.0% to less than 25.0% of a TiO₂component,

wherein the optical glass has

a B₂O₃/SiO₂mass ratio of not more than 1.00,

a refractive index (n_d) of 1.78 to 1.95, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of 25 to 45, and

chemical durability (acid resistance) of Class 1 to Class 3 when measured by a powder method.

2. The optical glass according to claim 1 comprising, by mass %:

0 to 30.0% of a ZnO component;

0 to 20.0% of a ZrO₂component;

0 to 20.0% of an Al₂O₃component;

0 to 25.0% of a Y₂O₃component; and

0 to 20.0% of a B₂O₃component.

3. The optical glass according to claim 1, wherein a total mass of B₂O₃+Nb₂O₅is less than 20.0%, and a total mass of ZrO₂+Nb₂O₅+WO₃+ZnO is less than 25.0%.

4. The optical glass according to claim 1, wherein a total mass of TiO₂+ZrO₂is less than 35.0%.

5. An optical glass comprising, by mass %:

10.0% to 50.0% of an SiO₂component;

15.0% to 60.0% of an La₂O₃component; and

0 to less than 15.0% of a TiO₂component,

wherein the optical glass has

a B₂O₃/SiO₂mass ratio of not more than 1.00,

a refractive index (n_d) of 1.60 to 1.85, and an Abbe number (ν_d) of 33 to 62, and chemical durability (acid resistance) of Class 1 to Class 3 when measured by a powder method.

6. The optical glass according to claim 5 comprising, by mass %:

0 to 35.0% of a ZnO component;

0 to 20.0% of a ZrO₂component;

0 to 20.0% of an Al₂O₃component; and

0 to 20.0% of a B₂O₃component.

7. The optical glass according to claim 5, wherein a total mass of B₂O₃+Nb₂O₅is less than 20.0%.

8. The optical glass according to claim 1, wherein a total mass of an Ln₂O₃component (where Ln is one or more selected from the group consisting of La, Gd, Y, Yb, and Lu) is not less than 15.0% but not more than 65.0%, a total mass of an RO component (where R is one or more selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) is not more than 25.0%, and a total mass of an Rn₂O component (where Rn is one or more selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, and K) is not more than 10.0%.

9. The optical glass according to claim 1, having a degree of abrasion of not more than 200.

10. A preform material comprising the optical glass according to claim 1.

11. An optical element comprising the optical glass according to claim 1.

12. An optical instrument comprising the optical element according to claim 11.

13. The optical glass according to claim 5, wherein a total mass of an Ln₂O₃component (where Ln is one or more selected from the group consisting of La, Gd, Y, Yb, and Lu) is not less than 15.0% but not more than 65.0%, a total mass of an RO component (where R is one or more selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) is not more than 25.0%, and a total mass of an Rn₂O component (where Rn is one or more selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, and K) is not more than 10.0%.

14. The optical glass according to claim 5, having a degree of abrasion of not more than 200.

15. A preform material comprising the optical glass according to claim 5.

16. An optical element comprising the optical glass according to claim 5.

17. An optical instrument comprising the optical element according to claim 16.

CPC - классификация

C C0 C03 C03C C03C2 C03C22 C03C220 C03C2204 C03C2204/C03C2204/0 C03C2204/00 C03C3 C03C3/C03C3/0 C03C3/06 C03C3/062 C03C3/068 C03C3/09 C03C3/095 C03C3/097 C03C4 C03C4/C03C4/2 C03C4/20 G G0 G02 G02B G02B1 G02B1/G02B1/0 G02B1/00

IPC - классификация

C C0 C03 C03C C03C3 C03C3/C03C3/0 C03C3/06 C03C3/062 C03C3/068 C03C3/1 C03C3/15 C03C4 C03C4/C03C4/2 C03C4/20

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