固体激光用Nd:Lu2O3透明陶瓷的制备和光学性能研究

Nd:Lu2O3材料由于具有高热导率、低声子能量和优异的光学特性而成为非常有前景的高功率固体激光器用的增益介质.但Lu2O3单晶的熔点超过2400℃,难以生长,而Lu2O3陶瓷既能在低温下制备,又具有与晶体相当的光学性质和激光性能从而备受关注.本研究制备了高透明的Nd:Lu2O3陶瓷并对其光学性质和激光性能进行探究.以...

Fabrication and Optical Property of Nd:Lu2O3 Transparent Ceramics for Solid-state Laser Applications

Nd³⁺ doped Lu₂O₃ crystal has been suggested to be potential gain medium for high-power solid-state lasers due to the high thermal conductivity,low phonon energy and excellent optical properties.Because of the extremely high melting point of above 2400℃,great attention has been paid to the Lu₂O₃-based transparent ceramics considering the comparable optical properties and laser performance with single crystal.In this work,we aimed at fabricating highly transparent Nd:Lu₂O₃ ceramics and investigating the optical properties and laser performance.1.0 at%Nd:Lu₂O₃ ceramics were fabricated by two-step sintering,namely vacuum sintering along with hot isostatic pressing(HIP)method,from coprecipitated nano-powders.The microstructures of the as-prepared powder,green body and ceramics were studied.The average grain size of the HIPed ceramics is 724.2 nm.The final ceramic sample has the in-line transmittance of 82.4%at 1100 nm(1.0 mm thickness).The absorption cross-section of 1.0 at%Nd:Lu₂O₃ ceramics at 806 nm is 1.50×10^-20cm²and the calculated emission cross-section from fluorescence spectrum at 1080 nm is about 6.5×10^-20cm².The mean fluorescence lifetime,169 ms,of the(4)^F3/2→(4)^I11/2 was measured at the two excitation wavelengths of 878.8 and 895.6 nm,respectively.Laser performance of the annealed ceramic sample was investigated in quasi-continuous wave(QCW)condition.A maximum laser output power of 0.47 W with a slope efficiency of 8.7%is obtained by using an output coupler with a transmission of TOC=2.0%.Briefly,laser level Nd:Lu₂O₃ transparent ceramics with high optical transparency and uniform microstructure have been fabricated,which are promising gain media for solid-state lasers.