Successful synthesis of highly transparent Nano-Polycrystalline Garnets (NPG) for sound velocity measurements

Abstract:

Well-sintered polycrystalline aggregates are important as the specimens for sound velocity measurements with either ultrasonic interferometry or Brillouin scattering method. We recently developed techniques to synthesize translucent~transparent polycrystalline garnets at high very high pressure and temperature using Kawai-type multianvil apparatus. However, the grain sizes of these garnets remained significantly larger than 1 mm, which are not small enough for the measurements with GHz ultrasonic interferometry because of significant acoustic scattering by grain boundaries.

We further developed the synthesis techniques and have succeeded to make well-sintered bodies of grossular and pyrope garnets made of nano-crystals (< 100 nm) at limited temperature ranges at a pressure of 15 GPa. Thus synthesized nano-polycrystalline garnets (NPG) are as transparent as the single crystals, having Real In-line Transmissions (RITs) close to those predicted by the refractive indices for the wide wave-length range in the visible light region.

The present ultra-high pressure synthesis technique provides a new way to make transparent nano-polycrystalline minerals, which should be important not only for the mineral physics measurements but also for some industrial/scientific applications, such as novel photonic materials.