Going transparent with additively manufactured ceramics

Transparent ceramics represent both a symbol of perfection in the world of ceramics, given the necessity to produce materials without defects or porosity, as well as of new possibilities, in particular for harsh environments and high-power laser applications. These materials, with a fully crystalline, single-phase structure and the production flexibility offered by the ceramic processing technologies, represent a new generation of materials for optics and photonics and have been in the spotlight of R&D in the past decade. Zenit Smart Polycrystals is a startup, born as a spin-off of the National Research Council of Italy, founded with the aim to offer new components for the laser, optics, and photonics markets. And the novelty comes from the implementation of additive manufacturing in the production process. Thanks to the flexibility and high precision of shape and composition distribution within a single component, it is possible to disrupt the laser and photonics scene going beyond the technology based on single crystals, i.e. providing near-net-shape components with complex structures produced in one single shaping step, skipping high precision post-polishing and bonding. New tailor-made laser gain media will be offered to materials processing, automotive as well as medical markets.