Spectroscopic characterization of Yb:Sc₂O₃ transparent ceramics

Yb:Sc₂O₃ transparent ceramics are fabricated by a conventional ceramic process and sintering in H₂ atmosphere. The room-temperature spectroscopic properties are investigated, and the Raman spectrum shows an obvious vibration characteristic band centred at 415 cm^-1. There are three broad absorption bands around 891, 937, and 971 nm, respectively. The strongest emission peak is centred at 1.04 μm with a broad bandwidth (11 nm) and an emission cross-section of 1.8×10^-20 cm². The gain coefficient implies a possible laser ability in a range from 990 nm to 1425 nm. The energy-level structure shows that Yb:Sc₂O₃ ceramics have large Stark splitting at the ground state level due to their strong crystal field. All the results show that Yb:Sc₂O₃ transparent ceramics are a promising material for short pulse lasers.