The influence of HfO₂ additives on the optical properties of Nd³⁺‐doped Y₂O₃ ceramics

Abstract

Transparent yttria ceramics were fabricated by sintering a mixture of 1 at.% Nd:Y2O3 and HfO2 nanopowders produced by laser synthesis method. The best transmittance was 80.96% at the wavelength of λ=1080 nm in 6 mol.% HfO2 doped sample (1.5 mm thick). The additives of hafnium broaden both pumping and luminescence bands of Nd3+ ion in yttria ceramics. The luminescence intensity of 4F3/2→4I11/2 transition was little affected by hafnium concentration. The effective lifetime of 4F3/2 level in Nd:Y2O3 ceramics enhanced by 30% at 10 mol.% HfO2 doping concentration and the decay kinetics of laser transition attains Förster's behavior. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The origin of microstructural inhomogeneity in vacuum‐sintered ZrO2‐doped Lu2O3 transparent ceramics

“…11 In order to achieve fully dense transparent polycrystalline ceramics, additional sintering additives are usually added during vacuum sintering, such as ZrO 2 , HfO 2 , TiO 2 , etc. [12][13][14] It has been reported that ZrO 2 is often selected as the sintering additive for rare earth sesquioxide ceramics (e.g., Y 2 O 3 , Lu 2 O 3 , and their solid solutions, etc.). [15][16][17] ZrO 2 -doping introduces more interstitial oxygen ions (O ⋅⋅ i ) and reduces cation ion concentration (RE ⋅⋅⋅ i ), thus slowing down the grain boundary mobility.…”

“…Controlling microstructure development, especially preventing pore‐boundary separation during final stage sintering is crucial for determining ceramic optical characteristics 11 . In order to achieve fully dense transparent polycrystalline ceramics, additional sintering additives are usually added during vacuum sintering, such as ZrO 2 , HfO 2 , TiO 2 , etc 12–14 . It has been reported that ZrO 2 is often selected as the sintering additive for rare earth sesquioxide ceramics (e.g., Y 2 O 3 , Lu 2 O 3 , and their solid solutions, etc.)…”

Optical, Thermal, and Mechanical Properties of (Y1-xScx)2O3 Transparent Ceramics

“…In this regard, an effective strategy, parallel to the improvement of sintering technology and powder engineering, is to introduce sintering additives. In the past decades, various sintering additives, such as LiF [7], CaO [8], ZrO2 [9], HfO2 [10], TiO2 [11], and La2O3 [12], have been adopted to promote the densification of sesquioxide transparent ceramics at a sintering temperature far below the melting point, and it is found that the in-line transmittance and even the laser performances of the resultant ceramics can be comparable to those of single crystals [1].…”