Synthesis and spectral properties of Yb3+/Ho3+ co-doped yttria 2 μm transparent ceramics

Abstract Yb/Ho co-doped yttria transparent ceramics, Yb/Ho:Y 2 O 3 , were prepared by vacuum sintering with additional 0.5 wt.% tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as sintering aid from the Yb/Ho co-doped yttria nanopowders synthesized by co-precipitation method. The optical quality of transparent ceramics was improved significantly, as increasing the sintering temperature from 1800 °C to 1850 °C as well as the holding time from 20 h to 25 h, respectively. The absorption spectrum was measured to find out the advisable emission source wavelength. The 2 μm emission bands were observed under laser diode excitation at 980 nm in the co-doped sample with 5 mol% of Yb 3+ and 1 mol% of Ho 3+ , and broad emission bandwidth were obtained.