Composition characterization in YSGG garnet single crystals for ytterbium laser

• DOI: 10.1364/ome.3.001408
• Publication Date: 2013-08-20T14:14:59Z
• Authors: Shuxian Wang; Hengjiang Cong; Kui Wu; Zhongben Pan; Haohai Yu; Junhai Liu; Robert I. Boughton; Huaijin Zhang
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 01 natural sciences

High-quality (YbxY1-x)3(Sc1.5Ga0.5)Ga3O12 (Yb:YSGG) (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.5, and 1) single crystals have been successfully grown by the optical floating zone (OFZ) method. The phase purity and atomic structure were analyzed in detail by employing X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) with Rietveld refinement. Chemical composition was measured and investigated by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The results of thermal survey show that the thermal conductivity declines from 6.543 W·m−1·K−1 for YSGG to 3.708 W·m−1·K−1 for the 50 at.% Yb3+-doped crystal, but rises to 4.425 W·m−1·K−1 for the 100 at.% sample (YbSGG). The systematically spectroscopic investigations suggest that the crystal field of Yb3+ in Yb:YSGG crystals is almost independent of the Yb3+ dopant concentration and the fluorescence quenching only appears in the high Yb3+-doped crystal.