Magnesium aluminate spinel transparent ceramics with high optical and mechanical performance by Y3Al5O12 sintering additive

High-quality magnesium aluminate spinel (MAS) transparent ceramics were successfully fabricated using Y3Al5O12 (YAG) as the sintering additive. The influence of the YAG content on the sintering behavior, microstructure, and optical properties of the MAS transparent ceramics was systematically investigated. A 4 mm-thick sample with 0.01 wt.% YAG hot isostatic pressed at 1600 degrees C achieved the highest in-line transmittance of 84.0% at 400 nm and the flexural strength of the sample was as high as 347.3 MPa, which represents the highest-performing reported MAS transparent ceramics that were sintered with oxide additives.