Highly transparent Nd^3+:Lu_2O_3 produced by spark plasma sintering and its laser oscillation

Abstract

Laser oscillation was demonstrated using a 1 at.% Nd3+-doped Lu2O3 (Nd3+:Lu2O3) transparent ceramic produced by spark plasma sintering. Nd2O3, Lu2O3, and LiF commercial powders were mixed by ball milling and were sintered at 1723 K using a two-step sintering profile. After the transparent Nd3+:Lu2O3 ceramic was annealed in air, its transmittance at 1076 nm reached 81.8%, which was close to the theoretical value for Lu2O3 (82.2%). The absorption cross-section at 806 nm was 1.29 × 10−20 cm2, and the fluorescence decay time at 1076 nm was 229 μs. The laser oscillation of Nd3+:Lu2O3 ceramic for the transition from 4F3/2 to 4I11/2—specifically, at 1076.7 and 1080.8 nm—was simultaneously obtained, with a laser output of 0.21 W and slope efficiency of 14%.