New optical ceramics: High-entropy sesquioxide X2O3 multi-wavelength emission phosphor transparent ceramics

Highly transparent X2O3 sesquioxide ceramics were obtained from a solid solution of five different oxides (Lu2O3, Y2O3, Yb2O3, Gd2O3, and Dy2O3), mixed in an equal molar ratio according to the principle of high-entropy. The fabricated (Lu, Y, Yb, Gd, Dy)2O3 ceramics achieved 99.97 % of the relative density and exhibited a high degree of optical transparency with the in-line transmittance of almost 80 % in the visible wavelength range. Emissions of Gd3+ (6PJ → 8S7/2 at 312 nm), Dy3+ (4F9/2 → 6H15/2 at 492 nm and 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 at 572 nm), and Yb3+ (2F5/2 → 2F7/2 at 1031 nm) suggested a potential application of the high-entropy ceramics as multi-wavelength emission phosphor transparent ceramics. High-entropy ceramics also exhibited lower specific heat and thermal conductivity compared to single-element sesquioxide ceramics. This work demonstrated that highly transparent oxide ceramics, with complex chemical compositions and good optical properties, could be obtained using the high-entropy principle.