title: Identification of the relative distribution of rare-earth ions in phosphate glasses.
abstract: The relative distribution of rare-earth ions R3+ (Dy3+ or Ho3+) in the phosphate glass RAl(0.30)P(3.05)O(9.62) was measured by employing the method of isomorphic substitution in neutron diffraction. It is found that 7.9(7) R-R nearest neighbors reside at 5.62(6) A in a network made from interlinked PO4 tetrahedra. Provided that the role of Al is explicitly considered, a self-consistent account of the local matrix atom correlations can be developed in which there are 1.68(9) bridging and 2.32(9) terminal oxygen atoms per phosphorus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Philip S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: Henry E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Gabriel J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Cuello