Solid-state single-crystal growth of YAG and Nd: YAG by spark plasma sintering

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2021.08.014

Abstract

Abstract:

Recent studies have shown that many challenges encountered in conventional single crystal growth methods, including high production costs, can be overcome by using the solid-state single-crystal growth (SSCG) approach, which has been recognized as a simple and cost-effective alternative for obtaining single crystals. In this work, Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG) and Nd³⁺-doped YAG (Nd:YAG) single crystals were grown via the SSCG method using spark plasma sintering (SPS). The growth of single crystals was initiated at the surface of (110) YAG single-crystal seeds embedded inside YAG and Nd:YAG powder beds, and this growth continued as the surrounding polycrystalline matrix was converted into a single crystal. The application of external pressure during the SPS process has been found beneficial for reducing the porosity of the grown single crystals. Moreover, high Nd³⁺ doping levels had a positive effect on the conversion kinetics, with a growth rate of almost 50 µm/h, which increased the driving force for single-crystal growth through the solute drag effect. EDS elemental mapping and line scans confirmed the compositional uniformity of the grown single crystals, while EBSD images verified their crystallization in the (110) direction. The obtained results confirm the strong potential of the SSCG technique coupled with SPS for the growth of undoped and highly doped YAG single crystals with excellent quality.

Key words: Single-crystal growth, Solid-state growth, Spark plasma sintering, YAG

Iva Milisavljevic, Guangran Zhang, Yiquan Wu. Solid-state single-crystal growth of YAG and Nd: YAG by spark plasma sintering[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 106: 118-127.

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of the YAG and Nd:YAG sample preparation for SPS. (b) Magnified cross-section of the powder sample with the embedded single-crystal seed. (c) Photograph of the YAG sample after SPS (red dashed line indicates the direction of sample cutting for characterization purposes).

Fig. 2. XRD results for undoped and 3.0 and 5.0 at.% Nd3+-doped polycrystalline YAG ceramics.

Fig. 3. SEM images of the seed/single-crystal/polycrystal interface in YAG ceramic samples sintered for (a) 0, (b) 10, (c) 30, (d) 60, and (e) 90 min at 1150 °C by SPS.

Fig. 4. (a) Graph showing the trend of the growth distance (black) and inverse average grain size (red), which is proportional to the driving force for single-crystal growth, as a function of sintering time. (b) Plot demonstrating an exponential decrease in the YAG single crystal growth rate with sintering time.

Fig. 5. SEM images of the seed/single-crystal/polycrystal interface in (a) undoped samples and (b) 3 at.% and (c) 5 at.% Nd3+-doped YAG samples obtained via SPS at 1150 °C for 60 min.

Fig. 6. Plots of the single-crystal growth distance (black) and the average grain size of the polycrystalline matrix (red) as a function of Nd3+ doping concentration in YAG samples sintered at 1150 °C for 60 min.

Fig. 7. EDS elemental maps for cross-sectional areas of (a) 3 at.% and (b) 5 at.% Nd:YAG samples.

Fig. 8. EDS line scan results acquired for cross-sections of (a) 3 at.% and (b) 5 at.% Nd:YAG samples. The graphs present the relative percent ratio between Nd and Y in the samples.

Fig. 9. EBSD images of cross-sections of (a) undoped (0 at.%) YAG and (b) 3 at.% and (c) 5 at.% doped Nd:YAG samples.

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