Fresnoite (Ba₂TiSi₂O₈) materials, which exhibit piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity, and nonlinear optical properties, can be used as core materials for optical communication and optical information processing devices. In this study, glass-ceramics with nanometer size fresnoite crystal phase were prepared from BaO-TiO₂-SiO₂ (BTS) glass containing ZrO₂ as a nucleating agent and their microstructure, crystallization behavior, and photoluminescence properties were analyzed. The heat treatment process for glass-ceramics was designed based on data obtained by non-isothermal analysis using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The crystal morphology and microstructure of the prepared specimens were analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), respectively. The luminescence properties of the specimens were analyzed by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. When the BTS glass with 15 wt% ZrO₂ (15Z)was heat treated at 1,015 ^oC, a dendritic structure by gathering very small spherical crystalline phases of 10-30 nm was formed. In addition, when the 15Z was excited by light of 309 nm wavelength, strong light of 469 nm wavelength was emitted, and this light appeared to be blue light close to white in the Commission International de l'Eclairage (CIE) diagram.

Keywords: Glass-ceramic, Fresnoite, Nano-crystal, Photoluminescence