Preparation of large diameter/thickness ratio glass shells and “In situ” high temperature infrared spectroscopy study

The millimeter-sized glass (SiO2) shells play key roles in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, especially for the so-called "direct-drive" configuration. The preparation of large diameter/thickness ratio glass shells and the exploration of transformation mechanisms for silicon-doped glow discharge polymer (Si-GDP) to SiO2 still face challenges. Here, we prepared large diameter/thickness ratio glass shells with the diameter of ∼1200 μm and shell thickness of ∼5 μm by increasing the Si contents in Si-GDP precursors. The influence of Si contents in Si-GDP shells on the compositions, morphologies and geometrical properties of glass shells were carefully investigated. The formability and uniformity of micro morphologies of the glass shells will improve with the increase of Si contents in precursors. The chemical composition of the prepared glass shells is SiO2 with some carbides adsorbed on their surfaces and the compositions present negligible relationship with the Si contents. The sphericity, thickness uniformity and surface quality will increase with the increase of Si contents in precursors. Besides, the oxidation mechanisms for Si-GDP to SiO2 were explored by the combination of an in situ high temperature infrared spectroscopy and a simultaneous thermal analyzer.