One Japanese/East Indian consortium has focused specifically on the spectroscopic and stimulated emission characteristics of Nd3+ in transparent YAG nanomaterials for laser applications. Their materials were synthesized using vacuum sintering techniques. The spectroscopic studies suggest overall improvement in absorption and emission and reduction in scattering loss. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope observations revealed an excellent optical quality with low pore volume and narrow grain boundary width. Fluorescence and Raman measurements reveal that the Nd3+ doped YAG nanomaterial is comparable in quality to its single-crystal counterpart in both its radiative and non-radiative properties. Individual Stark levels are obtained from the absorption and fluorescence spectra and are analyzed in order to identify the stimulated emission channels possible in the material. Laser performance studies favor the use of high dopant concentration in the design of an efficient microchip laser. With 4 at% dopant, the group obtained a slope efficiency of 40%. High-power laser experiments yield an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 30% for Nd (0.6 at%) YAG nanomaterial as compared to 34% for an Nd (0.6 at%) YAG single crystal. Optical gain measurements conducted in these materials also show values comparable to single crystal, supporting the contention that these materials could be suitable substitutes to single crystals in solid-state laser applications.