Preparation and laser performance of Nd-doped yttrium lanthanum oxide transparent ceramic

Abstract 1.5 at.% Nd:Y 1.8 La 0.2 O 3 transparent ceramic was fabricated by a solid-state reaction method and sintered at 1650–1700 °C for 40–50 h under H 2 atmosphere. The spectroscopic properties were investigated at room temperature. The transparent ceramic has excellent spectroscopic properties, with the absorption cross section of 1.50 × 10 −20  cm 2 and broad full width at half maximum (FWHM) of about 8 nm at LD wavelength 806 nm, the emission cross section of 2.03 × 10 −20  cm 2 at 1079 nm, and the decay lifetime of 200 μs. Laser performance was carried out using an uncoated Nd:Y 1.8 La 0.2 O 3 ceramic plate under laser diode end-pumping without any water cooling device. The room temperature thermal conductivity of this ceramic is 6.20 W/mK. For Nd:Y 1.8 La 0.2 O 3 ceramic laser, a maximum output power of 62 mW was obtained at 1079 nm under a 808 nm diode pump.