High Transparency Nd: Y 2 O 3 Ceramics Prepared with La 2 O 3 and ZrO 2 Additives

High transparency Nd: Y 2 O 3 ceramics were prepared by vacuum sintering with La 2 O 3 and ZrO 2 sintering additives. The optimum in‐line transmittance of the sintered Nd: Y 2 O 3 is 80.98% at the wavelength of 1100 nm, for which the content of La 2 O 3 and ZrO 2 are 10.0 and 3.0 at.%, respectively. This specimen demonstrates homogeneous microstructure with the average grain size of 8.3 μm. The mechanism of sintering with La 2 O 3 and ZrO 2 aids and the optical properties was discussed. The absorption, emission cross section, and fluorescence lifetime have been estimated as 1.62 × 10 −20 cm 2 , 5.13 × 10 −20 cm 2 , and 232 μs, respectively. Vickers hardness and the fracture toughness were measured of 9.18 GPa and 1.03 Mpa·m 1/2 , respectively. All the results indicate that Nd: Y 2 O 3 transparent ceramic is a promising candidate for laser material.