Neodymium zirconate (Nd₂ Zr₂ O₇) transparent ceramics as a solid state laser material

Transparent neodymium zirconate (Nd₂ Zr₂ O ₇) ceramics have been fabricated from nanoparticles prepared by combustion synthesis. Emission at 1054.5 nm has been demonstrated using a laser diode pump at 800 nm. A transmittance of 60% at wavelengths longer than ∼900 nm was achieved. A consequence of the very high concentration of Nd ions (1.32× 1028 ions/ m³) is that the absorption bands are wider than those of Nd doped Y₃ Al₅ O₁₂ (Nd:YAG) facilitating pumping over a broader range of wavelengths. The full width at half maximum of the emission peak is also larger than that of Nd:YAG, and the decay time is 460 μs making Nd₂ Zr₂ O₇ an excellent candidate for efficient high-power microchip lasers emitting at 1054 nm with diode pumping at ∼800 or ∼900 nm.