Structural properties and Faraday effect of arc melted magnesia transparent polycrystal

Abstract This experimental investigation focuses on the preparation of polycrystalline magnesium oxide transparent ceramics via arc-melting technique. Dense and compact transparent ceramics with interesting magneto-optical properties, and good transparency over 60% are proposed as a promising material for window and a magneto-optical device. Surface micro-morphology of the arc-melted MgO ceramics revealed the well-developed regular grains of several micrometers in diameter. The XRD results confirmed the cubic structure of MgO. The polycrystalline synthetic MgO contain homogenously distributed, silica-rich phase caused by secondary phase separation effect. The segregation of impurities to grain boundaries affects the optical and magneto-optical properties of this material. Optical band gap energy was calculated as 3.03 eV and decreased with the increasing temperature. The Verdet constant achieves values from +380 to +100 deg/T·m in the 350–1070 nm range at room temperature. The Verdet constant decreased with increased temperature. CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram was used to determine color of the emission light.