Synthesis of Nd:YAG powders leading to transparent ceramics: The effect of MgO dopant

Neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) ultrafine powders were synthesized by co-precipitation method using MgO as dopant. The addition of small amount of MgO can reduce the agglomeration and particle size of the produced Nd:YAG powders. The results show that pure phase YAG powders can be achieved by calcining of the precursors at 1000 °C for 2 h. The MgO doped Nd:YAG powders show better dispersion compared with the undoped powders. When the MgO content is 0.01 wt.%, well-dispersed Nd:YAG powders with spherical particles of 100 nm diameter were obtained. The transmission of the corresponding Nd:YAG ceramics is 82.6% at the wavelength of 1064 nm, which is comparable to Nd:YAG single crystals.