Lab Garnets
Lab garnet crystals, abbreviated as YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet), are grown in a variety of different colors. Dopants such as neodymium, cerium, chromium, holmium, erbium, ytterbium, praseodymium, and others are added in combination to the base YAG mixture to create the different colors. The dopants are often kept secret by suppliers to protect their intellectual property. Some lab garnets exhibit complete color changes while other exhibit fluorescence. Many lab garnets are manufactured into laser rods. Lab garnets have a mohs hardness of 8.5 making them extremely durable jewelry options.
👉 YAG VS YAC 👈
Nd YAG
Nd YAG is YAG doped with neodymium and is manufactured into laser rods. Pure Nd YAG has a pretty lilac to pink color change. When Nd YAG is codoped with Ce (cerium) the results are an array of color changing and fluorescent YAGs. As the amount of Ce increases the color changes are; lilac to pale yellow, light peach to deeper yellow, and orange to yellow respectfully.
Yb YAG
Yb YAG is YAG doped with ytterbium and is manufactured into laser rods. Yb YAG has a beautiful and vivid paraiba / lagoon blue tourmaline color. It is often called "paraiba YAG" in the trade. It can be grown as a monocrystalline crystal using the Czochralski growth method, or as a polycrystalline ceramic for the gem trade. Both cut beautiful gemstones, but only the monocrystalline version is lab grade.
CTH YAG
CTH YAG is often called a green laser garnet. CTH stands for the dopants chromium, thulium and holmium. Depending on the concentrations of the dopants the crystals can range from green-yellow to pure green to emerald blue-green. If there is enough chromium dopant, the crystal can fluoresce red. It can be grown as a monocrystalline crystal using the Czochralski growth method, or as a polycrystalline ceramic for the gem trade. Both cut beautiful gemstones, but only the monocrystalline version is lab grade.
Er YAG
Er YAG is YAG doped with erbium and is manufactured into laser rods. It is the color every padparadscha sapphire wished it could be! It changes color from pink to orange and every shade of peach in between. It has a weak yellow fluorescence, and when codoped with cerium fluoresces a light pink color.