Temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of plasma-sprayed Cr-doped α-alumina using supercontinuum laser illumination and CO laser heating.

This study presents results for the high-temperature (up to 1550 K) optical properties of polycrystalline Cr-doped α-alumina materials. Diffuse reflectance spectra in the wavelength range of 510-840 nm are presented as a function of temperature to illustrate changes to the optical behavior of these materials including a previously unreported thermally activated splitting of the U-band absorption (A4→T4) in octahedrally coordinated Cr. Measurements were made using a unique laser-based approach for high-temperature solid-state spectroscopy, involving front-side supercontinuum laser illumination and back-side CO laser heating. This approach required development of samples that could withstand related thermal stresses, and measurements were made on plasma-sprayed, Cr-doped α-alumina monoliths. Measured spectra are interpreted, in part, using published optical spectra for ruby; agreement between results here with those obtained using more traditional methods serves to validate the measurement methods used for this work.