On the solubility of Nd3+ in Y3Al5O12

TL;DR

This study investigates the solubility and phase behavior of Nd3+ ions in Y3Al5O12 (YAG) using sol-gel synthesis, DTA measurements, and thermodynamic calculations to understand metastable phase states.

Contribution

It introduces a thermodynamic model explaining Nd3+ solubility limits in YAG based on experimental DTA data and phase diagram analysis.

Findings

DTA measurements identified eutectic and liquidus temperatures.

Crystallized samples are not in equilibrium, indicating metastability.

A new phase diagram section explains experimental solubility results.

Abstract

Neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet powders (Nd:YAG or (Y{1-x}Nd{x})3Al5O12, x=0.15, 0.25, or 0.30, respectively) were prepared by a sol-gel technique. By DTA measurements up to 2000 deg C eutectic and liquidus temperatures could be determined. Exothermal peaks in the second and subsequent DTA heating runs indicate that the crystallized DTA samples are not in equilibrium. The section Y3Al5O12-Nd3Al5O12 of the concentration triangle Al2O3-Nd2O3-Y2O3 is proposed on the basis of thermodynamic calculations that allows to explain the experimental results by the balance of metastable phase states in the previously crystallized DTA samples.