Growth, thermal and polarized spectroscopic properties of Er3+:Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 crystal

An Er3+:Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. Thermal and polarized spectroscopic properties of the crystal were investigated. The thermal expansion coefficient and room-temperature thermal conductivity of the crystal along crystallographic c axis are 9.08 × 10−6 K−1 and 2.12 Wm−1K−1, respectively. For σ polarization, the peak emission cross section at 1556 nm is 0.51 × 10−20 cm2, and the full width at half-maximum of this emission band is 67 nm. The fluorescence lifetime of the 4I13/2 multiplet of Er3+ in the crystal is 5.91 ms. The results show that the Er3+:Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 crystal may be a potential gain medium for the ultrashort pulse and tunable lasers around 1.55 μm.