HOT-PRESSED TRANSPARENT CERAMICS AND CERAMIC LASERS

摘要

A transparent polycrystalline ceramic having scattering and absorption loss less than 0 2 /cm over a region comppsing more than 95% of the originally densified shape and a process for fabrication by hot pressing The ceramic can be any suitable ceramic such as yttria (Y203) or scandia (SC203) and can have a doping level of from 0 to 20% and a grain size of greater than 30 micron, although the grains can also be smaller than 30 micron A process for making a transparent polycrystalline ceramic in accordance with the present invention, ceramic nanoparticles can be coated with a sintering aid to minimize direct contact of adjacent ceramic powder particles and then baked at high temperatures to remove impurities from the particles The thus coated particles can then be densified by hot pressing into the final product The invention further provides a transparent polycrystalline ceramic solid-state laser matepal and laser.