Growth and thermal properties of Nd3+:YbVO4 crystal

New crystal Nd3+:YbVO4 has been successfully grown by using the Czochralski method. The rocking curves from (0 0 4) and (4 0 0) diffraction planes of as-grown Nd3+:YbVO4 crystal were measured by the high-resolution X-ray diffractometer (HRXRD) D5005, and the full-width values at half-maximum were 19.80″ for (0 0 4) face and 70.92″ for (4 0 0) face, respectively. The measured effective segregation coefficients were 0.545 for Nd3+ and near 1 for V3+ and Yb3+ by using the X-ray fluorescence method. The density of Nd3+:YbVO4 crystal is also measured. The measured thermal expansion coefficients are α1=2.6×10−6 K–1, α2=2.5×10−6 K–1, α3=8.7×10−6 K–1 from 298.15 to 573.15 K along its crystallographic a, b and c axes, respectively. The measured specific heat is 0.45–0.65 J/g·K in the temperature range from 298.15 to 573.15 K. The thermal diffusion coefficients of Nd:YbVO4 were measured and the thermal conductivities were also calculated.