Growth and properties of Nd:Lu3Ga5O12 laser crystal by floating-zone method

Neodymium (Nd) doped lutetium gallium garnet (Nd:Lu3Ga5O12, Nd:LuGG) single crystal was successfully grown by the optical floating-zone method for the first time to our knowledge. Its absorption and luminescence spectra at room temperature were measured. By using the J-O theory, the spectral parameters of Nd:LuGG were calculated, which indicated that Nd:LuGG should possess comparable and even better laser properties than Nd:YAG. The maximum output power of 855 mW at 1062 nm was achieved with slope efficiency of 23.4% under a pump power of 5.2 W, and optical conversion efficiency of 16.4%. All the results show that Nd:LuGG is a potential laser material.