In 1975, a new class of glass materials based on ZrF4 was accidentally discovered in the University of Rennes. This new family of synthetic halide glasses exhibited an exceptional wide transmission window ranging from ~ 0.2 m in the UV until ~ 7.6 m in the IR, making them a first choice for military and intelligence optical fibers, during several decades. Heavy metal fluoride glasses structure and properties are revised and discussed in this chapter.
Keywords: Heavy metal fluoride glasses (HMFG), fluorozirconate glasses, fluorohafnate glasses, fluoride glasses, halide glasses, ZBLA, ZBN, ZBLAN.
