Czochralski growth of mixed cubic sesquioxide crystals in the ternary system Lu2O3–Sc2O3–Y2O3

Abstract

Cubic rare‐earth sesquioxide crystals are strongly demanded host materials for high power lasers, but due to their high melting points investigations on their thermodynamics and the growth of large‐size crystals of high optical quality remain a challenge. Detailed thermal investigations of the ternary system Lu2O3–Sc2O3–Y2O3 revealing a large range of compositions with melting temperatures below 2200°C and a minimum of 2053°C for the composition (Sc0.45Y0.55)2O3 are presented. These reduced temperatures enable for the first time the growth of high optical quality mixed sesquioxide crystals with disordered structure by the conventional Czochralski method from iridium crucibles. An (Er0.07Sc0.50Y0.43)2O3 crystal is successfully grown and characterized with respect to its crystallographic properties as well as its composition, thermal conductivity and optical absorption in the 1 µm range.

The phase diagram of the ternary system Lu2O3–Sc2O3–Y2O3 is investigated and compositions with melting points below 2200°C are found. This allows for the first successful growth of the mixed cubic sesquioxide crystal (Er0.07Sc0.50Y0.43)2O3 by the Czochralski method from an iridium crucible. image