B154 Vol. 56, No.

3 / January 20 2017 / Applied Optics Research Article

Co-precipitation of rare-earth-doped Y2O3 and

MgO nanocomposites for mid-infrared
solid-state lasers
VICTORIA L. BLAIR,1,* ZACKERY D. FLEISCHMAN,1 LARRY D. MERKLE,1
NICHOLAS KU,2 AND CARLI A. MOOREHEAD3
1
U.S. Army Research Laboratory, 2800 Powder Mill Rd, Adelphi, Maryland 20783, USA
2
Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education, 1299 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
3
Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
*Corresponding author: Victoria.L.Blair3.civ@mail.mil

Received 27 July 2016; revised 20 September 2016; accepted 22 October 2016; posted 4 November 2016 (Doc. ID 272057);
published 6 December 2016

Mid-infrared, solid-state laser materials face three main challenges: (1) need to dissipate heat generated in lasing;
(2) luminescence quenching by multiphonon relaxation; and (3) trade-off in high thermal conductivity and small
maximum phonon energy. We are tackling these challenges by synthesizing a ceramic nanocomposite in which
multiple phases will be incorporated into the same structure. The undoped majority species, MgO, will be the
main carrier of high thermal conductivity, and the minority species, Er:Y2 O3 , will have low maximum phonon
energy. There is also an inherent challenge in attempting to make a translucent part from a mixture of two differ-
ent materials with two different indexes of refraction. A simple, co-precipitation technique has been developed in
which both components are synthesized in situ to obtain intimate mixing. These powders compare well to com-
mercially available ceramics, including their erbium spectroscopy, even when mixed as a composite, and can be
air-fired to ∼96% of theoretical density, yielding translucent parts. As the amount of Er:Y2 O3 increases, the
translucency decreases as the number of scattering sites start to coalesce into large patches. If the amount of
Er:Y2 O3 is sufficiently small and dispersed, the yttria grains will be pinned as individuals in a sea of MgO,
leading to optimal translucency.
OCIS codes: (160.0160) Materials; (160.3380) Laser materials; (160.5690) Rare-earth-doped materials.

https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.56.00B154

1. INTRODUCTION incompatible. This is due to light constituent ions most often

There has been much interest in lasers emitting in the mid-
infrared spectral region for use in a wide array of applications,
including atmospheric sensing [1], wind lidar [2], medical pro-
cedures [3], infrared counter measure technologies, molecular
spectroscopy, and optical pumping of longer wavelength solid-
state lasers. However, a set of thermal management challenges
arise in pursuit of high-output power lasers operating at mid-
infrared wavelengths (λ > 2 μm). First, otherwise-excellent
gain materials may cause luminescence quenching by multi-
phonon relaxation between the relatively closely spaced upper
and lower laser levels. This can be ameliorated by using gain
materials with small maximum phonon energies. Second, even
the most efficient gain media convert some fraction of the
pump energy into thermal energy, resulting in serious beam
problems such as thermal lensing and depolarization [4,5].
Unfortunately, the material requirements for low maximum
phonon energy and high thermal conductivity are very often
needed for high thermal conductivity resulting in strong ion–
ion interactions, and hence large maximum phonon energies.
The solution to these challenges could be found in the use of
polycrystalline, or ceramic, materials. With well-chosen forma-
tion processes, such as performing the sintering procedure with
nanosized powders, optical quality can be comparable to that of
single crystals. In fact, rare-earth-doped YAG (yttrium alumi-
num garnet) ceramics have demonstrated similar or better laser
efficiency compared to their single crystal counterparts [6,7].
Polycrystalline ceramic materials offer a myriad of other bene-
fits as well. These include greater flexibility in size and shape,
sintering temperatures considerably lower than melting tem-
peratures, and potentially lower costs [8].
Ceramic nanocomposites, in particular, could alleviate the
problem of incompatible host requirements for low quenching
and high thermal conductivity [9–12]. Nanocomposites incor-
porate multiple phases into the same structure to share the

1559-128X/17/03B154-05 Journal © 2017 Optical Society of America

 Research Article
overall benefits of the individual constituent materials.
Recently, nanocomposites composed of MgO and Y 2 O3 have
been prepared to produce infrared-transmitting windows with
increased durability and thermal shock resistance [13–19]. To
reduce optical scattering to laser and optical standards, the grain
size must be substantially smaller than the wavelength of light
[20]. This is especially important where there is a significant
difference in the index of refraction between the different
constituents.
Generally speaking, for a collection of fine particles in con-
tact with one another their size will increase if the system is held
at a sufficiently high temperature [21,22]. To obtain a fully
dense material, high temperature is required to drive densifica-
tion, ultimately leading to grain growth. If the grains start out
smaller (on the order of nanometers), a larger driving force for
densification (reduction of surface area) leads to a smaller
overall grain size at the end of the process.
This paper describes a simple, co-precipitation technique to
synthesize nanopowder composite material consisting of a ma-
jority MgO phase and a minority Er:Y 2 O3 phase. The relatively
low maximum phonon energy of Y 2 O3 (∼590 cm−1 [23])
makes it suitable to host the rare-earth fluorescing ion. As
long as the volume fraction of the Y 2 O3 phase (TC

8–13 W∕mK [24] is kept below 15%, the effective thermal
conductivity of the composite will remain close to the higher
value of MgO (45–70 W/mK [25] according to the established
Bruggeman model [26].
Currently, ceramic composites are made by simple mechani-
cal mixing of the components, introducing complexities such as
impurities from the milling media/mixing method, settling of
granules by density during slurry drying, and re-agglomeration
of particles during drying [27]. Recent work on ceramic nano-
composites has examined transformation processing or other
wet processing techniques to avoid the difficulties that arise
during mechanical mixing methods [9–11,14,17,27,28].
However, most of this work examines a 1:1 ratio of the phases
while we aim to explore smaller additions of a minority phase.
We aim to use a one-pot synthesis method in which the
materials are intimately mixed as liquids before the product
crystallizes and crashes out of the solution. Careful calcination
of the precipitated powder leads to nanocrystallites at moder-
ately low temperatures (<1000°C), useful for preventing large
grains in the final ceramic composite. In addition to the syn-
thesis and powder characterization, we will report on the
spectroscopic behavior of the nanocomposite in comparison
to commercial and in-house synthesized Er:Y 2 O3 . Overall,
we aim to create a nanocomposite with similar spectroscopic
behavior to pure Er:Y 2 O3 while having the high thermal
conductivity of MgO.
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
A. Materials Synthesis
A co-precipitation method was used to synthesize amorphous
precursor powders in an aqueous environment. Prior to the
chemical precipitation, a reactant solution was prepared, con-
sisting of yttrium nitrate (high purity 99.99%), magnesium
nitrate (high purity 99.99%), and erbium nitrate (high purity
99.99%) dissolved in deionized (DI) water. The total amount
Vol. 56, No. 3 / January 20 2017 / Applied Optics B155
of water added was proportional to the solubility limit of mag-
nesium nitrate in water. Thermogravimetric analysis was used
to determine the gram of cations per gram of hydrated nitrate.
This is imperative to achieve precise concentrations of
rare-earth cations in the final material.
In addition to the reactant solution, a basic solution was
made in which the chemical reaction would take place. The
basic solution consisted of 2% by weight of ammonium bicar-
bonate in DI water with ammonium hydroxide added until a
pH of ∼10 was obtained. Finally, the reactant solution was
added drop-wise to the basic solution in a fume hood while
maintaining the pH at ∼10 using small amounts of ammonium
hydroxide. Once the reactant solution was exhausted, the pH
was stabilized at ∼10, and the resulting suspension was allowed
to age overnight under constant stirring.
The next day, the suspension was filtered from the salty
solution. The resulting powder was then washed in isopropyl
alcohol and filtered; this was repeated for three total washings.
The powder was then dried in an oven at ∼65°C. Once dry,
the powder was gently crushed and calcined at a heating rate of
10°C/min and held at 1200°C for 30 min. The calcined
powders were loaded into a 1 cm die and uniaxially pressed
into disks. The pellets were then vacuum-sealed in clean
bags and further compressed in a cold isostatic pressure
(CIP) vessel. The pellets were held at a maximum pressure
of 30 k psig for 30 s. The pressed pellets were removed from
their bags and sintered at 1550°C for 1 h with a heating rate of
10°C/min.
The ratio of Er:Y 2 O3 to MgO was varied by around 10%.
This is a compromise between having sufficiently little
Er:Y 2 O3 to inhibit its grain growth and limit optical scattering,
and having enough to provide adequate volume-averaged
erbium concentration for eventual lasing. With 2% of the Y
replaced by erbium, the volume-averaged erbium concentration
for 10% Y 2 O3 is ∼5 × 1019 cm−1 . This average is only slightly
lower than the concentrations often used in laser experiments
on Er:Y 2 O3 and closely related materials, and the 2% atomic in
the Er:Y 2 O3 is within the range for which the upper state life-
time is reported to remain approximately constant with little
quenching [29–31].
B. Characterization of Materials
The sintered pellets were measured in a powder diffractometer
(Rigaku MiniFlex II) to determine semi-quantitative composi-
tion (MgO to Y 2 O3 ratio). Calibration specimens were batched
with known MgO∕Y 2 O3 ratios and measured by x-ray diffrac-
tion (XRD) to generate a calibration curve. Selected pellets
were fractured and imaged in a Hitachi S4700 scanning elec-
tron microscope equipped with a yttrium aluminum garnet
(YAG) backscatter detector to highlight the phase contrast.
ImageJ, Image Processing and Analysis in Java (NIH,
Bethesda, MD), was used to estimate the amount of Y 2 O3
in the specimen image. The same pellets were also ion milled
through the cross-section in a Leica TIC 3X ion mill to
generate a flat, polished area for further scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) observation.
Fluorescence spectra of the ∼1.5 μm 4 I13∕2 → 4 I15∕2 infra-
red transition of Er3 were obtained using a Horiba iHR320
monochromator with a 1.5 μm blazed grating and equipped
 B156 Vol. 56, No. 3 / January 20 2017 / Applied Optics Research Article

with a liquid-nitrogen-cooled, extended-range InGaAs photo-

diode for detection. Excitation at 804.1 nm into the 4 I9∕2
manifold was supplied by a Spectra Physics Tsunami Ti:sap-
phire laser operated in CW mode. Fluorescence lifetime mea-
surements of the 4 I13∕2 manifold were acquired by exciting the
sample with a modulated ∼808 nm laser diode. The decay sig-
nal was detected with an uncooled InGaAs photodiode
equipped with a 1500 nm long-pass filter, and was analyzed
using a Tektronix TDS7104 digital oscilloscope.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Chemical Composition
XRD patterns of the pellets showed all expected peaks for MgO Fig. 1. Fracture surface of the sintered pellet with 5% by weight
and Y 2 O3 . Er2 O3 is isostructural with Y 2 O3 , so the peaks Er0.04 Y 1.96 O3 , imaged by a YAG backscatter detector. The lighter
phase is the Er:Y 2 O3 .
would overlap if there were any present in the pattern. In
any case, the amount of erbium in the samples is likely too
small to be able to measure by standard-powder XRD
alone. Table 1 shows the targeted chemical compositions in
comparison to the measured composition. The samples with
smaller amounts of Y 2 O3 are closer to the targeted chemical
composition than the material with a target of 15% by weight
Er:Y 2 O3 .
The discrepancy between the target and measured compo-
sitions for the 15% Er:Y 2 O3 sample is possibly due to a change
in the isoelectric point of the solution from which the powder
was precipitated. To precipitate powder from mixing an acid
and a base, the pH must pass through the isoelectric point
of the solution for the reaction to occur. From literature, it
is shown that MgOH2 can be precipitated from a solution
of MgNO3 2 at a pH of ∼10 [32]. Generally, precipitation
of hydroxide precursors to Y 2 O3 occurs below a pH of 8
[33–35], lower than what was used for these nanocomposites. Fig. 2. Polished surface of the sintered pellet with 5% by weight
The increase in yttrium nitrate in the mixed solutions may be Er0.04 Y 1.96 O3 , imaged by a YAG backscatter detector. The lightest
causing a shift in the isoelectric point of the solution, resulting phase is the Er:Y 2 O3 .
in a preferred precipitation of the yttrium precursor over the
magnesium precursor. This would result in a higher magnesium
content in the final calcined material. Higher magnesium con- The discrepancy in the estimated yttria content from frac-
tent than the 15% target was observed in repeated precipitated ture surface to polished surface is likely due to nonuniform frac-
batches, with an average of 25% measured in the final material. ture of the specimen; the cracks propagate through the MgO
grains and around the yttria grains, leading to more yttria grains
B. Microstructure being visible in the part. The same trend was observed in the
The fractured surface of the sintered pellet with 5% by weight other specimens with higher yttria content. However, when a
of Er:Y 2 O3 , corresponding to 3.6% by volume, is shown in clean surface is polished flat through the grains, the yttria
Fig. 1. Pixel counting in ImageJ gave a Y 2 O3 content of content is closer to the amount measured by XRD.
∼14% by area, significantly larger than the targeted volume There is still some discrepancy between the estimated yttria
content of 3.6%. However, a polished surface of the specimen, content of the polished surface in comparison to what was
shown in Fig. 2, gave a Y 2 O3 content of 5.7%. batched, 5.7% for the former and 3.6% for the latter (both
by volume). The difference here may be attributed to process
control and understanding, which still need to be refined and
Table 1. Targeted and Measured Chemical optimized for this particular synthesis process. The solubility of
Compositions of the Sintered Pellets MgO in the precipitant suspension may still be an issue, even
MgO (wt %) Er0.04 Y1.96 O3 (wt %) though a pH of 10 was maintained through the process.
Figure 2 also shows some open porosity which cannot be
Target Measured Target Measured
observed in the fracture surface shown in Fig. 1. Finally, the
95 95 5 4.7 yttria grains are significantly smaller than the magnesia grains,
90 89 10 11 indicating that the magnesia is the dominating growth phase
85 67 15 33
that traps the yttria inside the magnesia. This is an important
 Research Article
Fig. 3. Backlit macro images of the sintered pellet fragments;
(a) 5% by weight Er:Y 2 O3 and (b) 10% by weight Er:Y 2 O3 . An
opaque specimen would appear black in this image.
result to obtain a transparent part, as the secondary phase
(yttria) must be small and disperse to reduce scattering.
Figure 3 shows a backlit macro image of two pellets consist-
ing of 5% and 10% Er:Y 2 O3 . An opaque specimen would be
black when backlit. There is a visibly observable difference be-
tween the two pellets with the 10% Er:Y 2 O3 specimen being
less translucent. This is expected as the Y 2 O3 is acting as a light
scattering site.
C. Spectroscopy
Optical spectroscopy measurements of the 4 I13∕2 → 4 I15∕2 in-
frared transition of Er3 were used to further characterize the
nanocomposite samples. Figure 4 shows the spectrum of the
5% by weight Er:Y 2 O3 nanocomposite sample along with that
from an Er:Y 2 O3 ceramic sample obtained from Konoshima
Chemical Co, Ltd. (Japan). This Konoshima material repre-
sents the pinnacle of rare-earth-doped ceramic sesquioxide
fabrication and is used in this study as a benchmark to gauge
the quality of the nanocomposite samples.
The spectral signature of this transition is determined by the
crystal-field splitting of Er3 levels involved and is unique to
Fig. 4. Fluorescence spectra of the Er34 I13∕2 →4 I15∕2 transition for
a nanocomposite with 5% by weight Er:Y 2 O3 and for a Konoshima
Er:Y 2 O3 ceramic sample. Baselines have been offset for clarity.
Vol. 56, No. 3 / January 20 2017 / Applied Optics B157
the Y 2 O3 host material [36]. Figure 4 shows that the spectral
signature of the nanocomposite is nearly identical to that of the
Konoshima sample, and both signatures agree well with liter-
ature [37,38]. Close inspection of the two curves shows that the
peaks in the nanocomposite material are slightly broader,
indicative of slightly poorer Y 2 O3 crystal quality.
Fluorescence lifetimes of the 4 I13∕2 level were taken for the
same nanocomposite sample (average erbium concentration of
0.1%) and for a pulverized piece of the Konoshima Er:Y 2 O3
ceramic with erbium concentration of 3%. The nanocomposite
gave a lifetime of 8.4 ms, while the Konoshima material showed
a slightly longer 9.4 ms lifetime. These are comparable to recent
measurements by Brown et al. of a 0.5% Er:Y 2 O3 thick
ceramic sample, which showed a fluorescence lifetime of
8.6 ms [37]. The concentration dependence of these differences
in lifetime is consistent with the effects of reabsorption of the
fluorescence.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Sintered pellets of varying ratios of MgO and Er:Y 2 O3 were
synthesized, processed, and characterized. The co-precipitation
process to make these materials has shown some repeatability
for low Y 2 O3 containing compositions (<10%). It is possible
that the precipitation of the magnesium precursor is suppressed
as the yttria content increases, thus leading to a final compo-
sition that does not match the targeted ratio. Research is on-
going to determine how the isoelectric point varies with varying
magnesium and yttria ratios in the reactant solutions prior to
precipitation.
The microstructure of the sintered pellets shows large MgO
grains with small, dispersed Y 2 O3 grains with a small amount
of residual open porosity. The Y 2 O3 grains appear at both triple
points and inside the MgO grains, indicating that the Y 2 O3
grains are swallowed up by the MgO during densification.
The pellets exhibited some level of translucency after pres-
sure-less sintering, and the translucency appears to decline as
the Y 2 O3 content increases. Research will be ongoing to obtain
fully dense samples by sintering under an applied pressure.
When fully dense material is achieved, thermal conductivity
measurements will be performed to compare to the calculated
values from the Bruggeman model [26].
Fluorescence measurements showed good agreement
between nanocomposite samples and Er:Y 2 O3 ceramic from
Konoshima Chemical Co, Ltd. (Japan). This indicates that
the nanocomposites are comparable in quality to the state-
of-the-art ceramic sesquioxide material on the market today.
Funding. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
(ORISE) (1120-1120-99); Science & Engineering
Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) (W911SR-15-2-0001).
Acknowledgment. C. A. M. was sponsored by an Army
Educational Outreach Program Youth Science Cooperative
Agreement with Battelle Memorial institute. N. K. was sup-
ported by an appointment to the Postgraduate Research
Participation Program at the U.S. Army Research
Laboratory (USARL) administered by the Oak Ridge
Institute for Science and Education through an interagency
 B158 Vol. 56, No. 3 / January 20 2017 / Applied Optics
agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy
and USARL.
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