Co-precipitation synthesis and sintering of nanoscaled Nd:Gd3Ga5O12 polycrystalline material

Nanoscaled Nd:Gd3Ga5O12 (Nd:GGG) polycrystalline material was prepared with Ga and Gd2O3 successfully at a lower sintering temperature (800 °C) and shorter holding time (6 h). The process of co-precipitation synthesis and sintering were described in detail. The thermal behavior of the Nd:GGG precursor was characterized by thermal weight analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Its phase transition temperature was determined by infrared spectra (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra. The results show that the weight loss of the precursor occurred below 650 °C and its crystallization temperature was 800 °C. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation and XRD line broadening calculation reveal that the particle size of the material became larger remarkably with increasing sintering temperature, and the particle size of the sample sintered at 800 °C was 30–40 nm.