Influence of non-stoichiometric design concepts on the optical properties of Sm-doped Gd2Zr2O7 transparent ceramics

The concept of non-stoichiometric design, as a historically significant strategy in material design, plays a crucial role in the development and innovation of materials. Particularly in the domain of red-orange fluorescence, the importance of the rare earth Sm element has been increasingly emphasized. This study successfully prepared non-stoichiometric Gd2Zr2O7 transparent ceramics doped with Sm using combustion and vacuum sintering. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the obtained powders are composed of fine defect fluorite structure grains, while the final ceramics exhibit pyrochlore/defect fluorite phase. Initially, non-stoichiometric design optimizes the optical transmittance of ceramics. The maximum transmittance of the X = −0.1 ceramic exhibits the highest transmittance 82.4 % @ 1134 nm. Furthermore, photoelectrons captured by native defects energy levels can transfer to the Sm excited states, optimizing the fluorescence property of ceramics. The fluorescence intensity of the X = 0.8 ceramic is about five times that of the X = 0 ceramic.