Low-temperature fabrication mechanisms and optical properties of ZrO2-La2O3 co-doped Er2O3 transparent ceramics

The highly transparent Er 2 O 3 ceramics were prepared with ZrO 2 and La 2 O 3 sintering aids in vacuum. The experimental results demonstrate that the presence of ZrO 2 consistently suppresses grain boundary migration, while La 2 O 3 promotes it. And the ability of ZrO 2 to reduce grain boundary migration rate surpasses the effect of La 2 O 3 in promoting grain boundary migration. At 1600°C, the Er 2 O 3 transparent ceramics doped with 10 at.% La 2 O 3 and 1 at.% ZrO 2 achieved optimal transparency with in-line transmittance of 76.7% at 1100 nm. The Er 2 O 3 sample doped with 10 at.% La 2 O 3 and 3 at.% ZrO 2 , sintered at 1800°C, exhibited the highest transmittance, reaching 80.3% at 1100 nm, corresponding to 99.1% of the theoretical in-line transmittance of Er 2 O 3 single crystal. Up/down-conversion emissions in Er 2 O 3 ceramic doped with 10 at.% La 2 O 3 and 3 at.% ZrO 2 were observed across the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared regions, exhibiting promising potential for applications as fluorescent displays, up-conversion luminescent materials, and infrared lasers.