Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, presented research at the 2022 Glass and Optical Materials Division meeting in Baltimore, Md. The presentation was based on results of a student-faculty research project undertaken by Olivia Magneson ’23 with Dr. Veenhuizen. The talk, “Phase-selective laser-induced crystallization of lead bismuth gallate glass,” reports how several crystal phases form preferentially at different temperatures in lead bismuth gallate glass. By varying the power and scanning speed of the laser irradiating the glass, the temperature profile can be controlled, through which the desired crystal phase can be formed. This talk was given at the Laser Interactions with Glasses session, which was organized by Dr. Veenhuizen in collaboration with Dr. Casey Schwarz of Ursinus College.

Student researcher Jacob Franklin ’23 (physics) and alumnus Collin Barker ’19 (physics) are co-authors with Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, on an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Optical Materials. Dr. Veenhuizen is the lead author of the article, “The role of glass composition in the 3D laser fabrication of lithium niobate single crystal in lithium niobosilicate glass,” which explains how glass composition controls the nucleation and growth of crystals in glass and how this can be leveraged to create single crystals, a valuable result for making single crystal architectures in glass for optical applications. Co-authors of the article also include collaborators from Lehigh University and Corning Incorporated.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, and physics major Jacob Marsh ’25 are co-authors on an article published with colleagues from Lehigh University in the journal Computational Materials Science. The article, “Determination of the structure of lithium niobosilicate glasses by molecular dynamics simulation with a new Nb-O potential,” discusses the development of a new interaction potential for modeling the structure of lithium niobosilicate glasses. Dr. Veenhuizen provided the experimental data supporting the model. Jacob and Dr. Veenhuizen collaborated with the lead author, Dr. Wei Sun, on analyzing the glass structure results generated from the computational modeling.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics and director of cooperative engineering, Olivia Magneson ’23, and Jacob Franklin ’23 presented results of their research at the virtual Glass and Optical Materials Division (GOMD) 2021 Annual Meeting in December. Veenhuizen presented the talk, “Effect of glass composition on the laser-induced nucleation and growth of lithium niobate crystals in lithium niobosilicate glass.” Magneson gave a poster presentation titled, “Phase-selective laser-induced crystallization of lead bismuth gallate glass,” and Franklin gave a poster presentation titled, “Formation of continuous lithium niobate single crystals in lithium niobosilicate glass via femtosecond laser irradiation.” GOMD 2021 brings together researchers in industry and academia to share findings about glass science and technology.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, is the third author on an article published in July 2021 in the journal Crystal Growth and Design. The article, “Polarization and Surface Effects on the Seed Orientation of Laser-Induced Sb₂S₃ crystals on Sb-S-I glass crystals on Sb-S-I glass,” is about using different fields (electric field polarization, temperature distribution, and light intensity distribution) to control the orientation of crystals formed on the glass surface with a laser.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, is the third author on an article published with colleagues from Lehigh University in the journal Crystals. The article, Effect of laser beam profile on rotating lattice single crystal growth in Sb₂S₃ model glass, describes a novel laser heating method which has helped delineate the contributions of temperature gradient and crystal anisotropy in crystal growth and lattice rotation.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, is the second author on an article published with colleagues from Lehigh University, Corning Incorporated, and Brookhaven National Laboratory in the journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. The article, Evolution of glass structure during femtosecond laser assisted crystallization of LaBGeO₅ in glass, studies the transformations in LaBGeO₅ glass structure, such as the formation of Ge nanoparticles and spatial segregation of atomic species, which take place due to femtosecond laser irradiation.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, Collin Barker ’19, and Joshua Miller ’21 presented results of their research at the 25th International Congress on Glass in Boston, Mass., in June. Veenhuizen presented “Ferroelectric domain engineering of lithium niobate single crystal confined in glass.” Barker and Miller gave a poster presentation on “Laser-induced crystallization and reduction of copper-doped lithium niobosilicate glass.” The International Congress on Glass meets every three years and brings together experts in the field of glass science and technology from around the world. Speakers from five continents presented at this year’s conference.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, is the second author on an article published in July 2019 with colleagues from Lehigh University and Corning Incorporated in the journal Crystal Growth and Design. The article, “Challenges of Laser-Induced Single-Crystal Growth in Glass: Incongruent Matrix Composition and Laser Scanning Rate,” focuses on the effect of host glass composition on the laser-induced nucleation and growth of single crystal architectures in LaBGeO₅ glass.

Dr. Keith Veenhuizen, assistant professor of physics, is the lead author on an article published with colleagues from Lehigh University, Corning Incorporated, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The article, “Ferroelectric domain engineering of lithium niobate single crystal confined in glass,” was published on January 29 in the journal MRS Communications.  It also appeared in several on several other sites, including Space Today. The focus of the article was how lithium niobate single crystals, fabricated in glass using a laser, preserve their ferroelectric functionality within the confines of the surrounding glass.