Growth and Faraday rotation characteristics of Tb3−xNdxGa5O12 single crystal

• The growth and properties of Tb3−xNdxGa5O12 crystal were first reported.
• The Verdet constant is larger than that of Tb3Ga5O12 crystal.
• The extinction ratio is larger than that of Tb3Ga5O12 crystal.
• The Nd3+ and Tb3+ super-exchange interaction may enhance the Verdet constant.

Tb3−xNdxGa5O12 single crystal with dimension of Φ22 mm × 28 mm and a good optical quality was grown by the Czochralski method. X-ray powder diffraction was carried out and lattice parameters were calculated, which showed that the single crystal belongs to cubic crystal system. The transmission spectrum in the wavelength range of 450–1500 nm, which indicated the crystal has low absorption coefficient at 900–1450 nm. The Verdet constants of Tb3−xNdxGa5O12 at 532, 633 and 1064 nm wavelengths calculated by the extinction method are 225, 145 and 41 radm−1 T−1, respectively, which are larger than that of commercial TGG (Tb3Ga5O12) reported. The magneto-optical figures of merit of the crystal calculated is 3162°/dB at 1064 nm, and the extinction ratio is larger than that of commercial TGG.