Sintering and laser behavior of composite YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG transparent ceramics

Highly transparent composite YAG/1.0 at.% Nd:YAG/YAG ceramic slab was prepared by vacuum reactive sintering method using commercial Al2O3, Y2O3 and Nd2O3 powders as raw materials with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and La2O3 as sintering aids. By selecting the sintering aids and controlling their doping amounts, pure YAG and 1.0 at.% Nd:YAG ceramics can be well fabricated at the same sintering temperature. A fully dense composite ceramic slab with an average grain size of ∼10 μm was obtained by sintering at 1750 °C for 50 h. The in-line transmittance of the composite ceramic was >81% near the visible wavelength of 400 nm. Output power of a composite ceramic rod (Ø3 mm × 82 mm) was 20.3 W with a pump power of 201 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 10.1%.