Preparation and Spectroscopic Properties of Yb:YAG Glass-ceramics

The yb~(3+)-doped 32CaO-12Y_2O_3-24Al_2O_3-31SiO_2-1Yb_2O_3 glasses were prepared by a melting method,then the glasses were annealed at 950℃,1050℃and 1100℃.The crystallographic structures of the glasses annealed at different temperatures were analyzed by XRD,the glass annealed at 1050℃was observed by TEM.The spectroscopic properties of the glass before and after annealing were investigated.The results show that the glass annealed at 1050℃is YAG glass-ceramics with no impurity crystalline phase.The spectroscopic properties indicate that Yb~(3+) ions are preferentially entered into the YAG crystal phase.The transparent Yb:YAG glass- ceramics obtained are based on the controlled nucleation and crystallization of CaO-Y_2O_3-A1_2O_3- SiO_2 system glasses containing yb~(3+)ions.