Hot Isostatic pressing of optically active Nd: YAG powders doped by a colloidal processing route. M. Suárez, A. Fernández, J. L. Menéndez, M. Nygren, R. Torrecillas, Z. Zhao. 2011.

Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Volume 30, Issue 6, April 2010, Pages 1489-1494. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955221909005810

In this work, 1 at.% Nd doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Y3Al5O12 (YAG) nano-sized powder prepared by colloidal route was investigated thoroughly concerning agglomeration control and preparation of transparent ceramic by post-HIP. Electrostatic and mechanical deagglomeration process followed by freeze-drying turned out to be an effective method to alleviate agglomeration, yielding a powder with a homogeneous particle size distribution around 100 nm. Transparent Nd:YAG ceramic samples have been successfully prepared by post-HIP without the aid of sintering additives. The optical properties varied markedly with the sintering and hot isostatic pressing conditions used. In-line transmittance values of 56% at 680 nm and close to 80% in the infrared region were recorded