Growth and spectroscopic characteristics of Er3+:YbVO4 crystal

A laser crystal Er3+:YbVO4 has been grown by the Czochralski method with excellent quality. The rocking curve from the (0 0 4) diffraction plane of the as-grown Er3+:YbVO4 crystal was measured and the full-width at half-maximum value was found to be 19.80 in. for the (0 0 4) face. The effective segregation coefficient of Er3+ was studied by X-ray fluorescence and the crystal structure was determined by means of X-ray diffraction analysis. The polarized absorption spectra and the fluorescence spectra of Er3+:YbVO4 were measured at room temperature. The spectral parameters were calculated based on the Judd–Ofelt theory, and the intensity parameters Ω2, Ω4 and Ω6 are found to be 5.50×10−20, 1.96×10−20 and 2.34×10−20 cm2, respectively. The emission cross-section has been calculated by the Fuechtbauer–Ladenbury method. The spectroscopic parameters of Er3+:YbVO4 are compared with other typical laser hosts.