Sintering and Optical Property of Nd³⁺:Lu₂O₃ Fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering

Lu₂O₃ is a novel material for high-power solid-state lasers due to its high thermal conductivity. In present work, Nd³⁺:Lu₂O₃ transparent ceramics with different Nd³⁺ doping concentration (C_Nd = 0, 1at%, 3at% and 5at%) were fabricated by spark plasma sintering, using commercial oxides as raw materials and LiF as sintering aid. The effect of Nd³⁺ doping concentration on phase, sintering property, microstructure and optical properties was investigated. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy were used for characterization. The results show that the sintered body exhibits pure Lu₂O₃ phase even with high Nd³⁺ doping concentration (5at%). The Nd³⁺ doping concentration has little influence on densification behavior and microstructure of Nd³⁺:Lu₂O₃ ceramics. All the sintered bodies have a high relative density above 99.5% and excellent transparency, in which 3at% Nd³⁺:Lu₂O₃ body shows highest transmittance, with values of 82.7% and 83.2% at 1064 and 2000 nm, respectively. Nd³⁺:Lu₂O₃ transparent ceramics show strongest emission bands located at 1076 and 1080 nm, which are attributed to the ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_11/2 transition of Nd³⁺ ions. The emission intensity and decay time decrease with increasing Nd³⁺ doping concentration, which indicates concentration quenching.