Nd-doped Ba(Zr,Mg,Ta)O3 ceramics as laser materials

•Transparent Nd3+-doped Ba(Zr,Mg,Ta)O3 ceramics were fabricated.•Thermal conductivities of the ceramics were around 2.7 W/m K.•The Nd substitution site in the ceramics was controlled by the host composition.•The fluorescence of Nd in the A-site was more efficient than that of Nd in B-site.•An FWHM of around 30 nm was obtained for the 4F3/2 → 4I2/11 fluorescence.

Transparent Nd3+-doped Ba(Zr,Mg,Ta)O3 ceramics with disordered-type crystals were fabricated by adjusting the Ba(Zr,Mg,Ta)O3 composition in order to substitute Nd dopants at different crystal sites. The XRD and XRFS analyses show that the substitution site of Nd ions changed as expected. In samples excited by a 805 nm laser diode, the shape of the fluorescence spectrum in the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition depends on the Ba(Zr,Mg,Ta)O3 composition, and a maximum full width half maximum of 30.5 nm was obtained. In addition, the fluorescence efficiency also improved by adjusting the Ba(Zr,Mg,Ta)O3 composition.