Fabrication and Characterizations of Yb:YAG Transparent Ceramics Using Alcohol-water Co-precipitation Method

doi:10.15541/jim20200231

Abstract

Abstract:

Yb ³⁺ doped YAG transparent ceramics have great potential as gain medium for high-power solid-state lasers due to many advantages, such as broad absorption and emission bands, high gain, low thermal loading, long fluorescence lifetime and high quantum efficiency. So Yb:YAG transparent ceramics have gradually been paid more attention. In this work, we aimed at optimizing the properties of powders to fabricate highly transparent Yb:YAG ceramics. 5at%Yb:YAG nano-powders were synthesized via the co-precipitation method by using ammonium hydrogen carbonate as the precipitant, and pure water or alcohol-water mixture as the solvent. All powders calcined at 1250 ℃ for 4 h exhibit a pure YAG phase. Compared to the one with pure water solvent, the 5at%Yb:YAG powder synthesized with alcohol-water solvent exhibits smaller average crystallite size and lower agglomeration degree. 5at%Yb:YAG transparent ceramics were successfully fabricated by vacuum sintering without sintering additives from the obtained powder with alcohol-water solvent. The microstructure and in-line transmittance of the ceramics sintered at 1500-1825 ℃ for 20 h and 1800 ℃ for 10-50 h were investigated. All ceramic samples show a homogeneous microstructure except for that sintered at 1825 ℃ for 20 h. The sample sintered at 1800 ℃ for 50 h shows the highest in-line transmittance of 78.6% at 1100 nm and 76.7% at 400 nm (2.2 mm thickness). The calculated absorption and emission cross sections are 5.03×10^-21 cm² at 937 nm and 13.48×10^-21 cm² at 1031 nm, respectively. Therefore, Yb:YAG ceramics with high optical transparency and uniform microstructure have been fabricated from powder with alcohol-water solvent.

Key words: Yb:YAG transparent ceramic, alcohol-water co-precipitation, vacuum sintering, microstructure, optical property

CLC Number:

TQ174

HUANG Xinyou, LIU Yumin, LIU Yang, LI Xiaoying, FENG Yagang, CHEN Xiaopu, CHEN Penghui, LIU Xin, XIE Tengfei, LI Jiang. Fabrication and Characterizations of Yb:YAG Transparent Ceramics Using Alcohol-water Co-precipitation Method[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2021, 36(2): 217-224.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig. 1 TG-DTA curves of the as-prepared precursors synthesized with pure water (a) and alcohol-water (b) solvents

Fig. 2 XRD patterns of the powders calcined at 1250 ℃ for 4 h synthesized with pure water and alcohol-water solvents

Fig. 3 FESEM micrographs of the as-synthesized precursors synthesized with pure water (a) and alcohol-water (b) solvents

Fig. 4 FESEM micrographs of the 5at%Yb:YAG powders synthesized with pure water (a) and alcohol-water (b) solvents calcined at 1250 ℃ for 4 h

Fig. 5 Photographs (a) and in-line transmittances (b) of 5at%Yb:YAG ceramics (2.2 mm thickness) sintered at different temperatures for 20 h

Fig. 6 FESEM micrographs of the thermally-etched surfaces of 5at%Yb:YAG ceramics sintered at various temperatures for 20 h

Fig. 7 Relative densities and average grain sizes of the 5at%Yb:YAG ceramics sintered at various temperatures for 20 h

Fig. 8 In-line transmission curves of the 5at%Yb:YAG ceramics (2.2 mm thickness) sintered at 1800 ℃ for various holding time

Fig. 9 FESEM micrographs of the thermally-etched surfaces of Yb:YAG ceramics sintered at 1800 ℃ for various holding time: (a) 10 h, (b) 20 h, (c) 50 h

Fig. 10 Absorption and emission cross sections of the 5at%Yb:YAG ceramic sintered at 1800 ℃ for 50 h

Fig. 11 Gain cross sections of the 5at%Yb:YAG ceramic sintered at 1800 ℃ for 50 h

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