Mechanical, thermal and spectral characteristics of Nd3+:Sr6YSc(BO3)6 crystal

A crystal of Nd3+:Sr6YSc(BO3)6 was grown successfully by the top-seeded solution growth method. The average laser-induced damage thresholds are 1.76 GW/cm2 for (0 0 1) face and 1.47 GW/cm2 for (1 0 0) face at 1064 nm radiation, respectively. The average Vickers hardness of (1 0 0) and (0 0 1) faces are 629 and 545 N/mm2, respectively. The thermal expansion coefficients are 12.3 × 10−6 K−1 along a-axis and 9.39 × 10−6 K−1 along c-axis, respectively. The thermal conductivity is about 2.3 W/m K at room temperature. The polarized spectral properties were investigated in detail. Based on the Judd-Ofelt theory, the intensity parameters were obtained. The results show that Nd3+:Sr6YSc(BO3)6 crystal is a potential laser crystal.