Growth of Nd:GdVO4 single crystal and its laser output at 1062 nm, 1342 nm

A new liquid-phase method synthesizing Nd:GdVO4 polycrystalline materials was introduced. High optical quality Nd:GdVO4 single crystals have been successfully grown by the Czochralski method. The effective segregation coefficients of Nd ion in Nd:GdVO4 crystal have been measured and discussed. Laser outputs at 1.06 mum and at 1.34 mum were achieved when Nd:GdVO4 crystal samples of 0.52 at% Nd concentration were pumped by a high-power LD. A maximum output of 14.5 W at 1.06 mum has been obtained when the pump power is to 26 W, giving the slope efficiency of 63%. It is reported the first time that up to 4.64 W power laser at 1.34 mum has been achieved with optical conversion efficiency of 31.4% and slope efficiency of 32.9%.