Structural and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Nd: Y2O3 Transparent Ceramics

Abstract

Various content of neodymia Nd: Y2O3 (Nd: 0.5-5.0 at.%) transparent ceramics were fabricated by vacuum sintering. The prepared Nd: Y2O3 ceramics exhibit high transmittance (~80%) at the wavelength of 1100 nm. It is found that the increase in Nd concentration enhances the grain size growth, while decreases the phonon energy, which is benefit for improving both the luminescence quantum and up-conversion efficiency. The thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient of the transparent 1.0 at.% Nd: Y2O3 ceramic is 5.51 W·(m·K)-1 and 8.11 × 10-6 K-1, respectively. The hardness and the fracture toughness of the transparent ceramic is 9.18 GPa and 1.03 Mpa·m1/2, respectively. The results indicate that the Nd: Y2O3 transparent ceramic is a potential candidate material for laser.