Simulation of field-assisted ion exchange in glass regarding the space-charge density and pseudo-mixed-alkali effect.

A model is proposed to describe the field-assisted molten salt ion exchange of Na+ with Ag+ in glass. It accounts for the buildup of space-charge zones and for the pseudo-mixed-alkali effect. Simulations in 1D proved to be consistent with experimental results. The 1D model has been expanded to 2D, making it suitable for simulating the fabrication of channel waveguides. Using a first-order approximation, a good agreement between the simulations and the experimental data can be achieved.