REFINE YTTRIA POWDER AND FABRICATION OF TRANSPARENT Yb,Cr:YAG CERAMICS

Commercial Y2O3 powders were subjected to high energy ball milling in a planetary ball mill using high purity alumina balls and vial. The refined Y2O3 power, with commercial high-purity Al2O3, Cr2O3 and Yb2O3 powders, were used as raw materials. Transparent ytterbium and chromium codoped yttrium aluminum garnet (Yb,Cr:YAG) ceramics were fabricated by a solid-state reaction method. The Yb,Cr: YAG ceramics exhibit a pore free structure and the average grain size is about 10 micron. The strong absorptions at 940 and 968 nm of Yb3+ are suitable for InGaAs diode laser pumping, and there is an absorption band at 1030 nm, which is suitable for passive Q-switch laser output at 1030 nm. Transparent Yb, Cr: YAG ceramics may be a potential material for compact, efficient, high-stability diode-laser-pumped passive Q-switched solid-state lasers.