Fabrication and optical properties of transparent fine-grained Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.1O4 and Ni2+ (or Cr3+)-doped Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.1O4 spinel ceramics

J. Carreaud (1) , J.-R. Duclère (1) , Y. Launay (1) , N. Tessier-Doyen (1) , D.S. Smith (1) , M Allix (2) , V. Couderc (3) , G. Delaizir (1) , S. Chenu (4)

1 IRCER - Institut de Recherche sur les CERamiques
2 CEMHTI - Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux : Haute Température et Irradiation
3 XLIM - XLIM
4 ISCR - Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes

For the first time, a Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.1O4 transparent spinel ceramic has been fully densified by spark plasma sintering. XRD measurements show that this ceramic is composed of a pure cubic spinel phase. SEM analysis revealed a homogeneous and dense microstructure with the average grain size being 200 ± 100 nm. The transmittance of these fine-grained ceramics reached 70 % in the visible range and is very close to 80 % at 2 µm, thus close to the Tmax value deduced from the measurement of the refractive index. The ceramics exhibit excellent mechanical properties with a Young modulus of 222 GPa, a Vickers hardness of 14.25 GPa and a thermal conductivity of 7.3 W.m−1. K−1. By doping with Cr3+ ions, transparent Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.1O4 ceramics present both a red luminescence and a long-lasting afterglow during several minutes. Moreover, a near infrared broadband emission at 1.3 µm is also achieved with Ni2+ ions.

Mots clés: Optical properties; Persistent luminescence; Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS); Transparent spinel ceramics; Zinc gallate (ZnGa2O4)

Domaines: Matériaux

J. Carreaud, J.-R. Duclère, Y. Launay, N. Tessier-Doyen, D.S. Smith, et al.. Fabrication and optical properties of transparent fine-grained Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.1O4 and Ni2+ (or Cr3+)-doped Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.1O4 spinel ceramics. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2023, 43 (11), pp.4976-4984. ⟨10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2023.04.044⟩. ⟨hal-04123749⟩