Spectroscopic and stimulated emission characteristics of Nd3+ in transparent YAG ceramics

Nd: YAG ceramic materials have been synthesized using vacuum sintering technique with the raw materials prepared by the nano-crystalline methods. The spectroscopic studies suggest overall improvement in absorption and emission and reduction in scattering loss. Judd-Ofelt analysis has been employed to compute the relevant spectroscopic and radiative parameters of the material. The SEM and TEM measurements reveal the excellent optical quality of the ceramic with low pore volume and narrow grain boundary. Fluorescence and Raman measurements reveal that the Nd3+-doped YAG ceramic is almost equivalent to its single-crystal counterpart in its radiative and nonradiative properties. Individual Stark levels for L-2s+1(J) manifolds are obtained from the absorption and fluorescence spectra and are analyzed to identify the stimulated emission channels possible in the Nd: YAG ceramic. Laser performance studies favor the use of high-concentration Nd: YAG ceramics in the design of an efficient microchip laser. With 4 at% Nd: YAG ceramic acting as a microchip laser, we obtained a slope efficiency of 40%. High-power laser experiments yield an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 30% for Nd (0.6 at %):YAG ceramic as compared to 34% for an Nd (0.6 at%):YAG single crystal. The oscillation experiments at 1.3 mum gives a slope efficiency of 35 %. Optical gain measurements conducted in these materials also show values comparable to single crystal, supporting that these materials could be suitable substitutes to single crystals in solid-state laser applications.