Highly transparent cerium-doped yttria ceramics for full-band UV-shielding window applications

Highly transparent cerium-doped yttria ceramics were fabricated via a pressureless sintering method with an addition of 10 at.% La2O3 and 1 at.% ZrO2 as a binary sintering additive. With an increase in the Ce doping concentration from 0 to 3 at.%, the optical absorption edge of yttria ceramics exhibited a significant red shift from 290 to 380 nm as a result of the 4f-5d transition of Ce3+ and the charge transfer of Ce4+ (i.e., Ce4++e(-)-> Ce3+). For a 2-mm thick sample doped with 3 at.% Ce, the total ultraviolet radiation (UV) transmittance (220-400 nm) is only 1.7%, indicating a nearly complete UV absorption. Meanwhile, the specimens possess high in-line transmittance levels in both the visible and the infrared regions (i.e., >70% at 450 nm and similar to 80% at 1100 nm). Additionally, the present specimens were confirmed to have good enough mechanical strength levels (similar to 165 MPa) and thermal conductivity (similar to 5 W/m center dot K), which are comparable or even better compared to those of previously reported transparent yttria ceramics. The results of this work indicate that cerium-doped transparent yttria ceramics are promising candidate materials for full-band UV-shielding window applications.

Automated summary

Highly transparent cerium-doped yttria ceramics were fabricated with the addition of La2O3 and ZrO2 as sintering additives. The samples demonstrated nearly complete UV absorption and high transmittance in the visible and infrared regions. Additionally, the specimens exhibited good mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. These cerium-doped transparent yttria ceramics are promising candidate materials for full-band UV-shielding window applications.