Fabrication of Nd:YAG transparent ceramics with both TEOS and MgO additives

摘要

Neodymium doped YAG transparent ceramics were fabricated by vacuum reactive sintering method using commercial á-AL_2O_3, Y_2O_3 and Nd_2O_3 powders as the starting materials with both tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and MgO as sintering aids. The morphologies and microstructure of the powders and Nd:YAG transparent ceramics were investigated. Fully dense Nd:YAG ceramics with average grain size of ~10 ìm were obtained by vacuum sintering at 1780 ° C for 8 h. No pores and grain-boundary phases were observed. The in-line transmittance of the ceramic was 83.8% at 1064nm.