Investigation of optical, mechanical, and thermal properties of ZrO2-doped Y2O3 transparent ceramics fabricated by HIP

Highly transparent ZrO 2 -doped Y 2 O 3 ceramics were successfully synthesized using the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process. The effects of the ZrO 2 content on the sintering behaviors , optical transmission spectra, Vickers hardness , grain size, size distribution, and Raman spectra were determined. The results indicated that decreased ZrO 2 content could promote increased transmittance, red-shifted infrared cutoff wavelength , increased thermal conductivity , decreased Vickers hardness, and increased lattice ordering. According to the optical transmission spectra, the optimized ZrO 2 content was 0.50   at%, at which point the ceramic exhibited a larger pre-sintering temperature range of 1650–1750   °C and the average grain size of 3.35   µm at 1750   °C. The grain size was significantly decreased at lower pre-sintering temperatures. Furthermore, a moderate Vickers hardness of 8.42   GPa and high thermal conductivity of 10.85   W/m   K at room temperature were obtained for the optimized ceramic.