Fabrication and laser behavior of the Yb:YAG ceramic microchips

Highly transparent 5 at.% Yb:YAG ceramic microchips were fabricated by vacuum sintering technology. The calculated cross section of the absorption σabs and emission σem were 6.1 × 10−21 cm2 at 940 nm and 1.9 × 10−20 cm2 at 1030 nm, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime of the unannealed sample was 0.618 ms, and became 1.229 ms after annealing. Laser oscillation around 1037 nm was observed when pumped by the fiber-coupled laser with 970 nm. The threshold power was 3.0 W and the slope efficiency was about 12% when using the transmission of 2.6% output coupler.

► We fabricated and investigated 5at.%Yb doped YAG transparent ceramic.
► Pore-free and high transparency can be obtained by vacuum sintering technology.
► Fluorescence lifetime and emission cross-section were comparable to those of some Yb doped single crystals.
► Laser output at 1030 nm was achieved using 970 nm pumping source when pump power exceeded the threshold value.
► Such ceramic possessed similar optical properties to the single crystal counterpart.