Growth and optical properties of the Nd,Ce:YAG laser crystal

A high-quality 2-inch-diameter Nd3+, Ce3+ co-doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) crystal was successfully grown by the Czochralski (CZ) method. During crystal growth, a modified temperature field was applied to prevent defects in the crystal. The spectrum of the sample showed strong absorption peaks corresponding to Nd3+ and Ce3+ ions. The effect of Ce3+ codoping on the photoluminescence of Nd3+ was investigated in detail. Strong 1066 nm emission of Nd3+ 4F3/2–4I11/2 was observed upon the 5d excitation of Ce3+. The energy transfer from Ce3+ to Nd3+ consists of nonradiative and radiative components. Compared to Nd:YAG, the double-doped Nd,Ce:YAG crystal realizes better utilization of the pump energy and higher laser energy output. Moreover, the laser threshold value is also significantly reduced. These results imply that Ce3+ doped into the YAG crystal acts as a good sensitizing ion for Nd3+. Hence, this double-doped Nd,Ce:YAG crystal is expected to be of industrial significance for manufacturing high-energy, low-volume solid-state lasers.