Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T05:19:42.446Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Two-step Sintering Process for Lutetium Oxide Transparent Ceramics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2011

Xiaomei Guo*
Affiliation:
Boston Applied Technologies Inc., Woburn, MA
Kewen K. Li
Affiliation:
Boston Applied Technologies Inc., Woburn, MA
Yanyun Wang
Affiliation:
Boston Applied Technologies Inc., Woburn, MA
Yingyin K. Zou
Affiliation:
Boston Applied Technologies Inc., Woburn, MA
Hua Jiang
Affiliation:
Boston Applied Technologies Inc., Woburn, MA
*
*Corresponding Author. Email: xmguo@bostonati.com
Get access

Abstract

During a two-step sintering practice, important factors such as final grain sizes and residual pore status can be controlled through adjusting the first and second step sintering temperatures and durations. Moreover, the sintering temperatures (both the first and the second step) can be several hundred degrees lower than those in a traditional sintering process to obtain fully dense ceramics. Therefore, it is a potentially cost-effective preparation procedure for ceramics with fine grains. In this work, we successfully demonstrated the synthesis of aggregate-free sesquioxide nanometer-sized powders with a narrow size distribution through a modified chemical co-precipitation process. Subsequently, ytterbium-doped Lu2O3 ceramics of near full density were obtained through a two-step sintering process.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Ikesue, A., Aung, Y.L., Taira, T., Kamimura, T., Yoshida K., K., and Messing, G.L., “Progress in ceramic lasers”, Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 36, 397–429 (2006).10.1146/annurev.matsci.36.011205.152926Google Scholar
2. Kaminskii, A.A.. Laser Crystals, 2nd ed. (Springer Berlin, 1990); Handbook of optical Materials. Ed. By Weber, M.J. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2003).Google Scholar
3. Petermann, K., Fornasiero, L., Mix, E., and Peters, V., “High melting sesquioxides: crystal growth, spectroscopy, and laser experiments,” Opt. Mater. 19, 67–71 (2002).10.1016/S0925-3467(01)00202-6Google Scholar
4. Gleiter, H., “Nanocrystalline materials,” Prog. Mater. Sci. 33, 223–315 (1989).Google Scholar
5. Mayo, M.J., “Processing of nanocrystalline ceramics from ultrafine particlesInt. Mater. Rev. 41, 85–115 (1996).10.1179/imr.1996.41.3.85Google Scholar
6. Liao, S.-C., Chen, Y.-J., Kear, B.H. and Mayo, W.E., “High pressure/low temperature sintering of nanocrystalline alumina," Nanostruct. Mater. 10, 1063–79 (1998).Google Scholar
7. Chen, I.-Wei and Wang, X.-H., “Sintering dense nanocrystalline ceramics without final-stage grain growth,” Nature 404, 168–71 (2000).Google Scholar
8. Durán, P., Capel, F., Tartaj, J. and Moure, C., “A strategic two-stage low-temperature thermal processing leading to fully dense and fine-grained doped ZnO varistors,” Adv. Mater. 14, 137–41 (2002).Google Scholar
9. Lee, Y-I., Kim, Y-W., Mitomo, M., and Kim, D-Y., “Fabrication of dense nanostructured silicon carbide ceramics through two-step sintering,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 86, 1803–5 (2003).Google Scholar
10. Zou, T., Wang, X., Zhao, W., and Li, L., “Preparation and properties of fine-grain (1- x)BiScO3- xPbTiO3 ceramics by two-step sintering,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 91, 121–6 (2008).Google Scholar
11. Huang, Z., Sun, X., Xiu, Z., Chen, S., Tsai, C.-T., “Precipitation synthesis and sintering of yttria nanopowders," Mater. Lett.., 58, 2137–2142 (2004).Google Scholar
12. Griebner, U., Petrov, V., Petermann, K. and Peters, V., “Passively mode-locked Yb:Lu2O3 laser," Optics Express 12, 3125–30 (2004).Google Scholar