Influence of growth and heat treatment conditions on lasing properties of ZrO2-Y2O3-Ho2O3 crystals

The influence of growth and subsequent heat treatment conditions on the parameters of two-micron lasing in (ZrO2)0.86(Y2O3)0.136(Ho2O3)0.004 crystals at the 5I7→5I8 transition of Ho3+ ions has been investigated. We show that the lasing properties of the material of the active element can be improved by reduction of the growth rate which leads to an increase in the optical homogeneity of the single crystals and by annealing of the crystals after growth which relieves thermoelastic residual stresses.