Comparative study of Yb:Lu3Al5O12 and Yb:Lu2O3 laser ceramics produced from laser-ablated nanopowders. Issue 5 (1st March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Basyrova, Liza; Loiko, Pavel; Maksimov, Roman; Shitov, Vladislav; Serres, Josep Maria; Griebner, Uwe; Petrov, Valentin; Aguiló, Magdalena; Díaz, Francesc; Mateos, Xavier
• Is Part Of: Ceramics international. Volume 47:Issue 5(2021)
• Page Start: 6633
• Page End: 6642
• Publication Date: 2021-03-01
• Subjects: Garnets -- Sesquioxides -- Optical ceramics -- Laser operation; Ceramics -- Periodicals; Céramique industrielle -- Périodiques; Ceramics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 666
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.10.253
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-8842

Abstract

Abstract: We present a comparative study of two Lu-based oxide ceramics doped with Yb 3+ ions, namely Yb:Lu3 Al5 O12 (garnet) and Yb:Lu2 O3 (sesquioxide), promising for thin-disk lasers. The ceramics are fabricated using nanopowders of 3.6 at.% Yb:Lu2 O3 and Al2 O3 produced by laser ablation: Yb:Lu3 Al5 O12 – by vacuum sintering at 1800 °C for 5 h with the addition of 1 wt% TEOS as a sintering aid, and Yb:Lu2 O3 – by vacuum pre-sintering at 1250 °C for 2 h followed by Hot Isostatic Pressing at 1400 °C for 2 h under Ar gas pressure of 207 MPa. The comparison includes the structure, Raman spectra, transmission, optical spectroscopy and laser operation. The crystal-field splitting of Yb 3+ multiplets is revealed for Lu3 Al5 O12 . A continuous-wave (CW) Yb:Lu3 Al5 O12 ceramic microchip laser generates 5.65 W at 1031.1 nm with a slope efficiency of 67.2%. In the quasi-CW regime, the peak power is scaled up to 8.83 W. The power scaling for the Yb:Lu2 O3 ceramic laser is limited by losses originating from residual coloration and inferior thermal behavior.