Rayleigh Scattering In Silica Glasses

Rayleigh-scattering properties in commercial silica glasses is clarified with relation to their fabrication methods. Fused silica and syntheitc silica made by the flame hydrolysis of SiCl4 (VAD) method exhibit similar magnitudes of scattering, regardless of fabrication method. The results suggest that the difference in Rayliegh scattering is predominantly attributable to the difference in Tg, which is affected by impurities, such as OH ions.