Growth, thermal and polarized spectral properties of Nd 3+-doped Li 3Ba 2Gd 3(MoO 4) 8 crystal

Abstract

Nd 3+:Li 3Ba 2Gd 3(MoO 4) 8 crystal has been grown from a Li 2MoO 4 flux by the top seed solution growth method (TSSG). The structure of the crystal was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The principal coefficients of thermal expansion along a, b and c-axes were precisely measured to be 1.62 × 10 −5, 1.73 × 10 −5 and 2.15 × 10 −5 K −1, respectively. The specific heat value was 0.42 J/g K at 50 °C. The polarized spectral properties of Nd 3+:Li 3Ba 2Gd 3(MoO 4) 8 crystal were investigated and the spectroscopic parameters were calculated and analyzed based on the Judd–Ofelt theory. The absorption cross-sections around 805 nm were determined to be 15.13, 3.84 and 5.27 × 10 −20 cm 2 for E// b, E// D1 and E// D2, respectively. The emission cross-sections σ em were determined to be 9.5 × 10 −20 cm 2 for E// b, 8.2 × 10 −20 cm 2 for E// D1, and 7.9 × 10 −20 cm 2 for E// D2, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime was measured to be 130 μs and the quantum efficiency was calculated to be 93%.