Growth and spectral properties of Nd:GdVO4 laser crystal

In this paper, the Czochralski growth, absorption spectra, and photoluminescence spectra of Nd:GdVO4 crystals are studied. From its absorption spectra, Nd:GdVO4 is found to exhibit an anisotropic optical absorption effect, and its effective Judd-Ofelt parameters are calculated: Omega(2) = 10.281 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4) = 5.426 x 10(-20) cm(2) and Omega(6) = 9.943 x 10(-20) cm(2). By these parameters, the absorption oscillator strengths, emission oscillator strengths, transition probabilities, fluorescence branch ratios, energy lifetimes, and integrated emission cross-sections are also derived. The photoluminescence spectra of Nd:GdVO4 crystal consist of a wide emission band of host and the characteristic emission bands of Nd3+. Based on the excitation spectrum, both the two evident peaks locating at 345 and 371 nm are ascribed to the characteristic excitation of Nd3+, and an energy transfer from the host to its doping Nd3+ ions is indicated. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.