Optical properties and laser oscillation of Yb3+, Er3+ co-doped Y3Al5O12 transparent ceramics

Abstract

We reported a kind of Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ co-doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (Yb, Er:YAG) transparent ceramics fabricated by using one-step vacuum sintering. The decent optical properties of the samples, e.g., high in-line transmittance up to 83.4% (at 1.6 μm), are benefit from their fine structures, in which the average grain size is 15 μm, without any pores spotted within the scope. The absorption around 970 nm of this co-doped ceramic reaches nearly 4.8 times that of the single Er³⁺ doped YAG. Laser operation at 1645 nm was evaluated by using a commercial laser diode emitting at 970 nm. The maximum output power of 155 mW was acquired with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 2.8%.