Characterization of spray granulated Nd:YAG particles for transparent ceramics

Solid content of suspension for spray drying was systematically investigated to obtain spherical and dense Nd: granulated particles. The rheological behavior, morphology, size and distribution, apparent and tap densities, and transmittance measurements were used as tools to guide the selection of solid content of suspension. The balanced solid content were 42.0 wt.%. The granulated particles exhibited close to mono-dispersed, spherical and uniform dense aggregates, and mean size was ∼35 μm. Under 60 MPa pressure, the granules were completely crushed without obvious inter-granules void. The homogeneous element distribution and fine microstructure provided high optical quality of Nd:YAG ceramics and the transmittance at 1064 nm reached up to 84.90%.