Scattering in Polycrystalline Nd:YAG Lasers

For the present study, 1.1-at.%-neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramics with a controlled pore volume (150-930 vol. ppm) were fabricated via a solid-state reaction method using high-purity powders. The scattering coefficients of neodymium-doped YAG (Nd:YAG) ceramics, obtained from Fresnel's equation, increased simply as the pore volume increased. The effective scattering coefficient and the laser-oscillation performance of Nd:YAG ceramics with a pore volume of ∼150 vol. ppm were almost equivalent to those of a 0.9-at.%-Nd:YAG single crystal fabricated via the Czochralski method.