Growth and optical characteristics of Yb3+:β-LiY(WO4)2 crystal

Yb3+:β-LiY(WO4)2 crystal with the dimension up to 2.0 × 1.2 × 0.6 cm3 has been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) technique. The hardness of Yb3+:β-LiY(WO4)2 crystal is 386.5 VDH. Yb3+:β-LiY(WO4)2 crystal exhibits a broad band at 978 nm, having an absorption cross-section of 2.33 × 10−20 cm2 and an FWHM of 7 nm. The feature of fluorescence spectrum is dominated by a broad band extending from 900 to 1100 nm with an FWHM of 87.6 nm. The fluorescence lifetime is 756 μs.