METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING TERBIUM OXIDE-BASED MAGNETO-OPTICAL CERAMICS FROM A NANOPOWDER SYNTHESISED BY LASER SPUTTERING OF A TARGET Russian patent published in 2022 - IPC C04B35/50 B82B3/00 C01F17/224 B82Y40/00 C04B35/626 H01S3/00 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: invention can be used in manufacturing ceramic insulators and Faraday rotators intended for eliminating reverse polarised emission in lasers. First, terbium oxide Tb₄O₇ – at least 80%, and the rest – at least one of yttrium, scandium, zirconium, lanthanum, or lanthanide oxides, are mixed in a molar proportion. A target tablet is formed from the resulting mixture by cold uniaxial pressing under a pressure up to 50 MPa. A section of the target tablet is sputtered in an oxygen-containing or reducing atmosphere using continuous and/or pulsed emission of a solid-state, in particular, fibre, or gas laser at a wavelength of 0.9 to 1.1 microns, moving the laser emission beam over the irradiated surface of the target, not leaving the surface. A femto- or picosecond pulsed laser can be used. The sputtered components are carried off by a gas stream and subjected to vortex separation. A fraction of a powder of nanoparticles with a size of 5 to 30 nm is isolated, used to fill moulds, and calcined in air at 300 to 500°C. The calcined powder is compacted first by uniaxial pressing at a pressure of up to 50 MPa, then by cold isostatic pressing at a pressure greater than for uniaxial pressing, and then sintered in a rarefied air atmosphere, holding at 300 to 500°C for 10 to 24 hours, and recrystallised, holding at 1,800 to 2,100°C for 6 to 10 hours. Part of the target tablet remaining after laser sputtering is ground to a homogeneous state and mixed with the initial powdered oxides, the mixture is pressed into a target tablet, and the process of laser sputtering of a section thereof is repeated.

EFFECT: resulting magneto-optical ceramics from a terbium oxide-based nanopowder is homogeneous, transparent, has high mechanical and radiation resistance, wherein the Verdet constant is three times higher than in a single crystal of a terbium-gallium garnet; productivity is 26 to 28 kg/h.

8 cl, 1 tbl, 5 dwg