Growth, thermal properties and laser operation of a novel disordered Yb:Ca3La2(BO3)4 laser crystal

• The thermal properties of Yb:Ca3La2(BO3)4 crystal were measured for the first time.
• Continuous-wave laser along the three crystallographic axis were obtained.
• A passively Q-switched operation of Yb:Ca3La2(BO3)4 laser was reported in this paper.

A high quality disordered Yb:Ca3La2(BO3)4 laser crystal has been successfully grown by the Czochralski method. The complete set of anisotropic thermal properties were systematically measured for the first time. In addition, continuous-wave laser along the three crystallographic axis were obtained. Passively Q-switched by a Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber, the laser yielded an average output power of 0.47 W with a slope efficiency of 7.6% for the first time. The generated pulse energy, duration, and peak power were 94 μJ, 33 ns, and 2.85 KW, respectively. We believe that the reliability and stability of these lasers makes the disordered Yb:Ca3La2(BO3)4 crystal of considerable interest for future applications.