Aqueous-based tape casting of multilayer transparent Nd:YAG ceramics

Abstract Transparent multilayer Nd:YAG ceramics were successfully fabricated by employing an ISOBAM-aqueous tape casting system, followed by oxygen sintering. Homogenous and flexible green tapes were obtained after drying the tapes for >24 h at room temperature in a controlled humidity chamber maintained at >60% relative humidity. The de-bindering and sintering processes were performed in a single heat treatment step conducted in an oxygen atmosphere. After sintering and subsequent polishing were performed, high transparency ceramics were obtained without the need for any additional annealing treatment. SEM characterization of the Nd:YAG ceramic sintered at 1750 °C for 20h revealed a highly homogeneous microstructure, with an average grain size of approximately 5 μm. The transmittance of the ceramic was measured to be 77% at the laser emission wavelength of 1063 nm.