Growth, thermal and spectral characteristics of Yb3+:Sr6YSc(BO3)6 crystal

A crystal of Yb3+:Sr6YSc(BO3)6 was grown successfully from Li6B4O9 flux by the top-seeded solution growth method. The crystal's thermal, mechanical and spectral characteristics were investigated in detail. It possesses small thermal expansion coefficients, moderate thermal conductivities, and large hardness. The crystal has a strong absorption band at 967 nm with a full width at half-maximum of about 3.4 nm. The crystal has a broad emission band at 1016 nm with the full width at half-maximum of about 64 nm. The emission cross sections were calculated by reciprocity method and Füchtbauer-Ladenburg formula. The fluorescence lifetime is 5.98 ms. The results reveal that Yb3+:Sr6YSc(BO3)6 crystal is a new promising tunable and ultrashort pulse laser crystal.