Optical characteristics of Cr3+ and Nd3+ codoped Y3Al5O12 ceramics

The optical characteristics of Cr3+ and Nd3+ Codoped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) ceramics are measured. These measurements are done using two pumping sources, a 808 nm laser diode (LD) and a Xe short-arc lamp, to simulate solar radiation. The specimens used are 0.1%Cr3+/1.0%Nd3+ and 3.0%Cr3+/10%Nd3+ (atomic%) codoped YAG ceramics. A Nd:YAG crystal doped with 10%Nd3+ is used as a reference. The saturation intensities of the Cr/Nd:YAG ceramics pumped by the LD are the same as that of the Nd:YAG crystal, while they are higher when they are pumped by the Xe lamp. The saturation intensities are 3.23 +/- 0.18 kW/cm(2) for the 0.1% Cr-doped ceramic and 4.30 +/- 0.24 kW/cm(2) for the 3.0%Cr-doped ceramic. The small signal gains of the 0.1%Cr-doped and 3.0%Cr-doped ceramics are measured and found to be 1.8 times and 7.0 times higher than that of Nd:YAG for the same intensity of solar pumping, respectively. The quantum efficiency of energy transfer from Cr3+ to Nd3+ is estimated to be 0.88 +/- 0.09 for the 0.1%Cr-doped ceramic and 0.67 +/- 0.08 for the 3.0%Cr-doped ceramic. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.