Novel microwave assisted synthesis of highly doped phase pure Nd:YAG nanopowder

For the first time, the studies on 2 to 10 at.% neodymium (Nd3+) ion doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) nanopowders obtained by microwave assisted citrate nitrate gel combustion synthesis is described in this work. This paper reports on high doping of Nd3+ ions with retaining the cubic garnet structure of YAG as evidenced from XRD, except the case of 8 at.% doped Nd:YAG. Phase pure YAG formation with 8 at.% Nd3+ doping was explored by using urea and alanine as alternative to citric acid complexing agents. Complete crystallization of YAG as a result of 2 hour thermal treatment at 900 °C under oxygen supply was studied by using Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. With an increase in the dopant concentration a red shift in the FTIR peaks was observed. Using the XRD data, the cell parameter of Nd3+ (2 to 6 and 10 at.%) YAG was found to increase with an increase in the dopant concentration. The average primary particle size calculated using Scherrer’s equation was ∼25 nm which was additionally supported by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) results yielding particle sizes in the range of ∼25 to 30 nm for all the cases.