Temperature effects on laser action of Yb3+:YCa4O(BO3)3 crystal

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the temperature effects on the laser performance of Yb3+:YCa4O(BO3)3 crystal. It was found that the extent, to which the laser performance was affected by temperature rising, was dependent on the lasing wavelength. With the crystal temperature being raised from 1 to 50 °C, the lasing threshold increased by a factor of 1.40-1.82; whereas the rate, at which the output power dropped with rising temperature, was determined to fall in a range from 0.006 to 0.028 W/°C, for laser action producing a moderate output power of 3 W. As the crystal temperature was raised, the laser performance deteriorated in output power, efficiency, and threshold; but the laser beam quality was improved considerably.