Investigation of self-frequency doubling crystals, yttrium calcium oxyborate (YCOB), doped with neodymium or ytterbium

There is a need for low cost red, green, and blue (RGB) lasers for a number of commercial applications such as high-resolution laser printing, full color laser display. While semiconductor lasers still have both availability (green and blue) and beam quality (red) problems, nonlinear frequency conversion of diode-pumped solid state lasers are good alternatives. Among them, self-frequency doubling is an attractive approach because of its simpler design and lower cost. Unfortunately, few known crystals possess self-frequency doubling property. A newly discovered yttrium calcium oxyborate (YCOB) can fill in the role because it has adequate lasing and nonlinear frequency conversion efficiency.; More importantly, YCOB crystal melts congruently so that high quality, large size single crystals can be grown using conventional Czochralski melt pulling technique. The thermal mechanical properties, linear and nonlinear optical properties of YCOB, laser properties of Nd:YCOB and Yb:YCOB crystals were investigated. Based on the calculated second harmonic phase matching angles, Nd:YCOB laser rods were fabricated. Self-frequency doubled green emission with 62 mW output power and red emission with 16 mW output power were successfully demonstrated using diode-pumping. It is the first time to achieve the continuous wave (cw) red lasing in Nd doped rare-earth calcium oxyborates.; Rare-earth ions doping in YCOB crystal can not only achieve lasing, but also affect the physical and chemical properties of the crystal. The stability field of YCOB is reduced in proportion to both the ionic size differences from yttrium and doping concentrations of the rare-earth ions. The doping also changes the linear and nonlinear optical properties of the material. For example, the second harmonic conversion efficiency of 20% Yb doped YCOB was enhanced by more than 15% compared to undoped YCOB. The absorption cutoff edge of 20% Yb:YCOB was red-shift by more than 60 nm. Similar effects were observed in Ce, or Pr, or Eu doped YCOB crystals. It is proposed that the rare-earth ions with variable oxidation states can serve as either donor or acceptor to the conjugated π-orbits formed by the (BO3)3- planar groups in the YCOB structure to increase the delocalization of electron clouds, and thus increase the nonlinearity and result in the red-shift of the energy band-gap.; In summary, the YCOB is the first nonhygroscopic nonlinear crystal with high damage threshold that can provide both large aperture and long nonlinear conversion length for high power laser applications. The Nd:YCOB shows promising features as a diode-pumped self-frequency doubling laser material to generate efficient, compact, low cost cw red and green emissions. Investigation of the whole rare-earth calcium oxyborate family compounds is just at the early stage. It is expected that these crystals would have a great impact on nonlinear optical device market in the very near future.