Microstructural, spectroscopic and mechanical properties of hot-pressed Er:SrF2 transparent ceramics

Raw SrF 2 powders were synthesized by the chemical precipitation method, and the mean particle size was 58.48 nm. Er:SrF 2 transparent ceramics were obtained by hot-pressed (HP) technique, and the effect of ErF 3 levels on the transparency, microstructure, luminescence spectroscopic and microhardness were studied. The ratio of emission intensities R (Red/Green) increased with the ErF 3 doping levels. The addition of ErF 3 was found effectively to reduce grain size and has a positive effect on improving the microhardness. The SrF 2 ceramic doped with 5 wt.% ErF 3 (2 mm thick) showed the best optical transparency, the transmittance at 500 nm and 1200 nm are 87.9 % and 89.5 %, respectively. The average grain size, Vickers hardness ( Hv ), and fracture toughness ( K IC ) for the SrF 2 ceramic were 21.1 ± 4.5 μm, 1.73 ± 0.04 GPa, and 0.52 ± 0.08 MPa·m 1/2 , respectively.