Method of preparation and structural properties of transparent YAG nanoceramics

Transparent Nd:YAG nanoceramics composed of nanosized grains were fabricated by high-pressure low temperature sintering technique (HPLT). Structural and morphological studies of the sintered pellets were carried out using X-ray powder diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The hardness of nanoceramics, extinction coefficient and transmittance spectra were measured and analyzed. The initial grain size of the YAG powder was 30 nm and no grain growth has taken place during the consolidation process. The density of the obtained nanoceramics was close to the theoretical density of YAG.