In this study, pure Y2O3, La0.1Y1.9O3 and La0.1Nd0.12Y1.78O3 nanosized powders were successfully synthesized by a modified sol-gel method. Pure and rare-earth ions doped yttria powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller methods. The powders were sintered by the hot isostatic pressing process. The highest in-line transmittance of 56% was obtained at 800 nm and increased in the IR region. The influence of the lanthanum and neodymium ions on the physicochemical properties of yttria were discussed. The La-Nd-doped material exhibited a Verdet constant over 4000 deg/T·m at 400 nm and low thermal dependence. An interesting evolution of the Verdet constant across the absorption band with high resolution was studied. A study of the optical and magneto-optical properties of yttria doped with Nd3+ and La3+ is discussed in this paper.
Keywords: EDTA sol–gel process; Verdet constant; Y2O3; magneto-optical properties; transparent ceramics.