Fabrication and Laser Performance of 1.3at%Nd:YAG Transparent Ceramics

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1077.2007.00798

Abstract

Abstract: High-quality 1.3at% neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) transparent ceramic was fabricated by a solid-state reaction method and vacuum sintering using high-purity α-Al₂O₃, Y₂O₃ and Nd₂O₃ as raw materials with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as sintering aid. The microstructure, the spectral property and the laser performance of the prepared Nd:YAG ceramic were studied. It is found that the sample exhibits pore-free structure with average grain size of 15μm. There is no secondary phase in the grain boundary and grain. Transmittance of the sample after annealing reaches 82.4% at the laser wavelength of 1064nm. The highest absorption peak is centered at 808.6nm and the absorption coefficient is 4.45cm^-1. The peak absorption coefficient at laser wavelength of 1064nm is 0.11cm^-1. The FWHM of 1064nm main emission peak is 0.82nm, and the fluorescence lifetime is 258μs. A laser diode (808nm) was used as pump source whose maximium output was 1000mW, and end-pumped laser experiment was demonstrated on 1.3at%Nd:YAG ceramic. The sample for laser testing is phi16mmtimes2.8mm in dimension, mirror-polished on both sides and without coating. With 731mW of maxiμm absorbed pump power, laser output of 45mW is obtained with slope efficiency of 23.2%. The laser threshold is 530mW.

Key words: Nd:YAG transparent ceramic, microstructure, spectral property, laser performance

CLC Number:

TQ174

LI Jiang,WU Yu-Song,PAN Yu-Bai,AN Li-Qiong,ZHANG Jian,WANG Shi-Wei,GUO Jing-Kun. Fabrication and Laser Performance of 1.3at%Nd:YAG Transparent Ceramics[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1077.2007.00798.

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