Nd3+-doped Lu2O3 transparent sesquioxide ceramics elaborated by the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) method. Part 1: Structural, thermal conductivity and spectroscopic characterization

Spectroscopy of C3i and C2 sites of Nd3+-doped Lu2O3 sesquioxide either as ceramics or crystal

“…The emission spectra of rare earth-doped sesquioxides at RT reported in the literature and in this work [5,6] concern mainly the most populated C 2 site. In order to know more not only on C 2 but also on C 3i sites and on C 2 -C 2 and C 2 -C 3i pairs, we have also applied site selective laser spectroscopy to Nd 3 þ ions in Lu 2 O 3 ceramics.…”

“…level diagram had already been drawn for ceramics in [5] and it is the same for crystals. It is easy to assign the six Stark components of the 4 F 3/2 (R 1 )-4 I 11/2 transition at 77 K as a result of J¼11/2 manifold split in Jþ1/2 Stark levels.…”

“…However, it is extremely difficult to grow Lu 2 O 3 single crystal using conventional crystal growth methods because of its high melting point (2490 1C) [1]. It is much easier to fabricate Lu 2 O 3 into a ceramic structure since the sintering temperature is about 700 1C lower than its melting point, and no expensive crucible is required [2][3][4][5]. As a result, spectroscopic data of Nd 3 þ laser ions are needed in Lu 2 O 3 host, either as single crystal or as ceramics.…”

“…As a result, spectroscopic data of Nd 3 þ laser ions are needed in Lu 2 O 3 host, either as single crystal or as ceramics. Materials we have analyzed and compared are either Nd 3 þ -doped Lu 2 O 3 single crystals grown by the m-Pulling Down method [1] or Nd 3 þ -doped Lu 2 O 3 ceramics fabricated by the non-conventional method Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) [5] for which we have also shown laser outputs [6]. The main goal of this article is to compare the spectroscopic data of Nd 3 þ ions occupying C 3i and C 2 sites of the sesquioxide structure not only in Nd 3 þ -doped Lu 2 O 3 ceramics as recently reported [5] but also in Nd 3 þ -doped Lu 2 O 3 single crystals.…”

Sintering of transparent Yb-doped Lu 2 O 3 ceramics using nanopowder produced by laser ablation method

“…Compared with single crystals, transparent ceramics provide several advantages including lower fabrication temperatures, reduced cost and production time, feasibility for larger size samples and gradient doping profile [9,10]. Recent trend in ceramic processing of Lu 2 O 3 materials involves different powder consolidation methods such as spark plasma sintering [11][12][13] or vacuum sintering followed by hot isostatic pressing [14] for further improving optical properties via reducing grain size and porosity. As a result, the laser operation for various rare-earth ions like Er, Nd, Tm, and Ho was obtained [14][15][16][17][18].…”