Bridgman growth and characterization of Dy:YCa4O(BO3)3 crystal

Abstract

A 1-inch Dy3+:YCa4O(BO3)3 single crystal has been grown by the Bridgman method. The segregation coefficient of Dy3+ is 0.784. The structures, thermal and optical properties of Dy3+:YCOB crystal was studied. The results show that the Dy3+:YCOB crystal has high transmittance, specific heat and thermal diffusion coefficient. The Y-axis-oriented Dy3+:YCOB crystal has the largest absorption cross-section σabs(0.85×10−21cm2@444nm) and emission cross-section σem(2.54×10–21cm2@585nm). In addition, the J-O intensity parameters Ωt(t=2,4,6) of the Dy3+:YCOB crystal were calculated, where Ω2, Ω4, Ω6 are 5.01×10−20cm2, 0.33×10−20cm2, 0.52×10−20cm2 respectively. The fluorescence branching ratio β is 78.7%, and the radiative lifetime τrad is 1.588 ms. The fluorescence lifetime τf is 384.47 μs at 585 nm. The above data confirms that the Y-axis-oriented Dy3+:YCOB crystal is a good yellow laser gain material, which has potential application value in the field of yellow laser operation.