Fabrication and Magneto-Optical Properties of Yb2O3 Based Ceramics

Abstract

Transparent ceramics based on ytterbium oxide have been successfully produced by vacuum sintering of self-propagating high-temperature synthesized powders with use of a La2O3 sintering aid. Phase composition and microstructure of the initial powders were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that addition of 5 mol.% of La2O3 does not cause formation of secondary phases in the Yb2O3 powders. The 4% La:Yb2O3 ceramics showed the best in-line transmittance of 73% at a wavelength of 2 μm among the studied samples. Dependence of the Verdet constant on wavelength was investigated in the range of 0.4–2 μm. The most promising finding is use of the obtained material as Faraday isolators in the wavelength region of ~1.5 μm, where there are no absorption bands, and the Verdet constant is 8.6 rad/(T*m).

Study of Optical Performance and Structure of Yb/Al (1.5 wt.% Si) and Yb/Al (Pure) Multilayers Designed for the 73.6 nm Range

“…In the comparative analysis of the diffraction peaks between the Yb/Al (pure) and the Yb/Al (1.5 wt.% Si) multilayers, a noticeable diminution in the intensity of the peaks for the latter was observed, particularly the peak corresponding to the Al (111) plane, which became remarkably subdued. Additionally, the peak associated with Yb (111) exhibited a slight 111), respectively [29][30][31][32]. In the comparative analysis of the diffraction peaks between the Yb/Al (pure) and the Yb/Al (1.5 wt.% Si) multilayers, a noticeable diminution in the intensity of the peaks for the latter was observed, particularly the peak corresponding to the Al (111) plane, which became remarkably subdued.…”

“…Figure 3 illustrates the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of Yb/Al multilayer structures recorded in symmetrical reflection mode. The observed diffraction peaks showed angular distributions at 28.405°, 32.210°, and 38.897°, which may be attributed to the crystallographic planes of Yb (111), Yb2O3 (123), and Al (111), respectively [29][30][31][32]. In the comparative analysis of the diffraction peaks between the Yb/Al (pure) and the Yb/Al (1.5 wt.% Si) multilayers, a noticeable diminution in the intensity of the peaks for the latter was observed, particularly the peak corresponding to the Al (111) plane, which became remarkably subdued.…”

Magneto-Optics Effects: New Trends and Future Prospects for Technological Developments

“…Indeed, there are currently available several new dielectric MO materials that are monolithically integrable with CMOS technology [36,37,40]. Other recent approaches include the development of transparent MO ceramics [117,118], with applications in Faraday isolators for high-power lasers [119,120]. In addition to new low-loss all-dielectric MO materials, nanostructured all-dielectric MO platforms are also needed to compete with the well-established magnetoplasmonic mechanism for amplified MO effects.…”

Fiber Optic Sensors Based on the Faraday Effect

“…Much more data about the Verdet constant can be found in the literature (or calculated from presented data) [ 43 , 125 , 159 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 , 175 , 176 , 177 , 178 , 179 , 180 , 181 ], but the value is usually given for a single wavelength and other figures of merit are often missing. Differences in reported data are understandable because of the high sensitivity of the parameters-to-dopants concentration.…”