Nanograined highly transparent yttria ceramics

The field of transparent ceramics is enjoying a renaissance, as refractory oxides are being developed as alternatives to single crystals in high-performance laser systems. However, a significant challenge remains regarding the reduction of the grain size to sufficiently subwavelength dimensions in o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2009-04, Vol.34 (7), p.1033-1035
Main Authors: SERIVALSATIT, K, YAZGAN KOKUOZ, B, KOKUOZ, B, BALLATO, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Glasses, quartz
Laser materials
Optical materials
Optics
Physics
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Summary:The field of transparent ceramics is enjoying a renaissance, as refractory oxides are being developed as alternatives to single crystals in high-performance laser systems. However, a significant challenge remains regarding the reduction of the grain size to sufficiently subwavelength dimensions in order to achieve the same degree of optical transparency as the single-crystal analog. Here we report transparent yttria (Y2O3) ceramics that were synthesized by a pressure-assisted, two-step, low-temperature sintering process with an average grain size of 300 nm. These nanograined ceramics exhibit equivalent transmission to single crystalline yttria for wavelengths greater than about 1200 nm. The single-crystal-like transmittance of the nanograined yttria ceramics in the visible and IR region is an important advancement for the use of these materials in more-extreme environments, including high-energy laser systems where reduction of scattering is paramount.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.34.001033