Magneto-optical (MO) crystals are the core of optical insulation and polarization circulation devices in high-power laser technology and optical communication. Terbium sesquioxide Tb₂O₃ as a novel promising MO material is expected to replace the commercial benchmark Tb₃Ga₅O₁₂ (TGG) crystal due to the high terbium concentration, good optical transmittance, and large Verdet constant (3.55 times that of TGG). The overall goal of this China-Russia joint project is to obtain high-qualitycentermeter-sizedsingle crystals of Tb₂O₃ by various techniques such as the flux, Cz, TSSG, Kyropoulos or their combined techniques. The magnetic, optical and Magneto-Optical properties of Tb₂O₃ crystals are to be fully studied once the high-quality bulk samples are available.

    This project is co-organized by the Guangdong Academy of Sciences and St. Petersburg State University. In this joint project, China and Russia will master the core technology to prepare high-quality Tb₂O₃ single crystals by low energy consumption, cheap and heavy-metal-free processes, laying the foundation for the commercialization and industrialization of the state-of-the-art Magento-Optical devices.