Highly transparent Nd3+: Lu2O3 produced by spark plasma sintering and its laser oscillation

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 x 10(-20) cm(2), and the fluorescence decay time at 1076 nm was 229 mu s. The laser oscillation of Nd3+: Lu2O3 ceramic for the transition from F-4(3/2) to I-4(11/2)-specifically, at 1076.7 and 1080.8 nm-was simultaneously obtained, with a laser output of 0.21 W and slope efficiency of 14%. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America