Y3Al5O12 ceramic absorbers for the suppression of parasitic oscillation in high-power Nd:YAG lasers

The objective of this study was to identify a material suitable to absorb radiation at the wavelength of neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Y3Al5O12:YAG), 1064 nm. M-(M= Sm3+, Co2+, Co3+, Cr3+, and Cr4+) doped highly transparent YAG ceramics were fabricated, and their absorption spectra were measured. Unlike Co2+ and Cr3+-doped ceramic samples, Co3+ and Cr4+ and Sm3+-doped:YAG ceramics were found to have significant absorption at 1064 nm. However, the Sm3+-doped YAG clearly emerged as the best candidate because it is also transparent at 808 nm, the pumping wavelength laser diode (LD), and also at most absorption bands used for flash-lamp pumping.