New Yb-doped Vanadate Lutetium Gadolinium Series Of Crystal Growth, Characterization And Laser Performance

High power laser diode pump solid-state lasers(DPSSL) advance rapidly due to the development of high power laser diode(LD) and optimizing design of DPSSL since the 80th of 20 century. Because it combines semiconductor with solid, the DPSSL possess the merits of both semiconductor and solid. DPSSL have been found important applications in the fields of material processing, optical communications, control and guide, laser measurement, laser medical treatment, laser chemistry and laser nuclear fusion. It is a very pivotal factor for the DPSSL to search for laser materials that are suitable for LD pumping, therefore, the upsurge for exploring new laser crystal materials is rising.Nd³⁺-doped laser crystal materials are investigated widely. Nd³⁺-doped vanadates laser crystal such as Nd:YVO₄, Nd:GdVO₄, Nd:LuVO₄ have higher absorption coefficient, larger emission cross section and wider absorption band. Those excellent optical and laser properties make them applied widely in middle and small lasers. Nd:YVO₄ crystal has been commercial, which is one of laser medium with a wide variety of applications. The conductivity of Nd:GdVO₄ (11.7W/m·K) is comparable to that of YAG. Thus, Nd:GdVO₄ crystal is potential high power LD pumping laser material.Among all kinds of Rare-earth ions, Yb³⁺ is another doped ion which has been researched widely. As a 4f¹³ ion, Yb³⁺ is a very simply energy level structure. The electronic structure of ytterbium has only two states, namely the ground state (F_7/2) and the excited state (F_5/2), This simple electronic structure of Yb³⁺ ion make it possess such spectroscopic advantages as no excited-state absorption, no up-conversation and negligible nonradiative relaxation rate between the two states. And most of the crystals with high concentration of Yb³⁺ ions have no luminescence quenching, but the concentration of Yb³⁺ ions in crystals can be so very high that the laser devices can be powerful compact. The ways of exciting Yb³⁺ ions are either directly by using the InGaAs diode-lasers emitting in the 900-1000nm regions, or by energy transfer from excited Nd³⁺ ions, which have been studied in many matrices The Nd-Yb system has two advantages that they usually have a far higher absorption coefficient and they can be pumped by the AlGaAs diode-lasers which are more convenient and powerful than InGaAs diode-lasers. In 1993, Stuttgart university demonstrate the foreground that Yb³⁺ are optimization active ion for high power oxide...