Laser synthesis of nanopowders with yttrium aluminum garnet stoichiometry

A nanopowder of yttria-alumina mixture with the yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) stoichiometry has been synthesized for the first time by the laser evaporation method. A high-power CO₂ laser with pulse duration above 200 μs, repetition frequency of 500 Hz, and pulse energy of about 1 J provided a high yield of powder at a rate of 24 g/h. The obtained nanopowder has been used to prepare YAG:Nd³⁺ ceramics with a cubic structure possessing an optical transmittance of about 77% at a wavelength of 1.06 μm. The successful synthesis of YAG nanopowder is based on the preliminary numerical simulation of the laser evaporation of a target using a three-dimensional model.