In this work, 1 at.% Nd doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Y3Al5O12 (YAG) nano-sized powder prepared by colloidal route was investigated thoroughly concerning agglomeration control and preparation of transparent ceramic by post-HIP. Electrostatic and mechanical deagglomeration process followed by freeze-drying turned out to be an effective method to alleviate agglomeration, yielding a powder with a homogeneous particle size distribution around 100 nm. Transparent Nd:YAG ceramic samples have been successfully prepared by post-HIP without the aid of sintering additives. The optical properties varied markedly with the sintering and hot isostatic pressing conditions used. In-line transmittance values of 56% at 680 nm and close to 80% in the infrared region were recorded.

The authors acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and UE for funding through projects MAT2006- 01783 and NMP3-CT-2005-515784, respectively. M. Suárez acknowledges CSIC for an I3P fellowship.

6 páginas, 7 figuras, 1 tabla.

Peer reviewed