J. BallatoK. SerivalsatitClemson UniversityMahidol UniversityChulalongkorn University2018-05-032018-05-032011-06-29Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. Vol.8039, (2011)0277786X2-s2.0-79959567636https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/11796Transparent sesquioxide ceramics, e.g. Y 2 O 3 and Sc 2 O 3 are being developed as alternatives to yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) for high-power solid-state laser systems. In this work, we present the synthesis of these sesquioxide nanopowders by precipitation techniques and the subsequent processing of these nanopowders into sub-micron transparent ceramics using a modifying two-step sintering approach. These transparent ceramics exhibited equivalent transparency to that of analogous single crystals. The microhardness and fracture toughness of the modified two-step sintered ceramic exceeded those of conventionally sintered ceramic by 25% and 70%, respectively. © 2011 SPIE.Mahidol UniversityComputer ScienceEngineeringMaterials ScienceMathematicsPhysics and AstronomyConference PaperSCOPUS10.1117/12.885238