Growth, morphology and laser performance of Nd:YVO4 crystal

Nd : YVO4 single crystal with good optical quality and large dimension has been grown by Czochralski method. The synthesizing of Nd :YVO4 polycrystalline material and some problems of single crystal growth have been studied. We have developed the equilibrium shape of Nd : YVO4, single crystal which is composed of {1 0 0} and {1 0 1} simple forms. The effective segregation coefficients k(eff) of elements have been measured and k(eff) of Nd element is about 0.63. The lasing at 1.06 mu m has been demonstrated pumped by a 3 W laser diode (LD), and the light-light conversion efficiency is up to 50%. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.