Effect of LiF addition on spark plasma sintering of transparent Nd-doped Lu2O3 bodies

Transparent Nd-doped Lu2O3 bodies were fabricated by spark plasma sintering, and the effect of LiF addition on sintering, microstructure and transparency of Nd-doped Lu2O3 bodies were investigated. LiF promoted the densification at an early stage of sintering, resulted in high transparency of the Nd-doped Lu2O3 body. The optimal content of LiF was 0.2 wt% and that Nd-doped Lu2O3 body showed a transmittance of 81.8% (99.5% of theoretical) at 1080 nm after annealing in air for 21.6 ks.