  Optical materials with semiconductor nanoparticles within dielectric matrices
are of interest for construction of non-linear optical elements, selective
filters, spectral converters, etc. In the present work, we concern the glasses
with PbS and PbSe fabricated by the two-step technique on the basis of silicate
glass matrix and report the recent studied using the small-angle neutron
scattering (SANS) technique. A proper understanding the structure of material,
size of particles and spectral features need to control optical functionality
of glasses. SANS is efficient non-destructive technique allowing a wide range
of structural models in the size range from atomic clusters to submicron size.
Here we combine SANS measurements with wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) and
electron microscopy to get information on nanoparticles formed in a series of
PbS and PbSe-doped silicate glasses.
