Crystal growth and spectroscopic characterization of Dy3+:Sr3Gd2(BO3)4 - A potential yellow solid state laser material

Abstract A transparent crystal of Dy-doped Sr3Gd2(BO3)4 was successfully grown by Czochralski (Cz) method. Polarized absorption and fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence decay curve with special attention to the yellow emission have been measured at room temperature. The crystal has a relatively high absorption cross section of 1.02 × 10−21 cm2 (E//c) at 453 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 10 nm (E//c). The Judd-Ofelt parameters Ω2, Ω4 and Ω6 were calculated to be 4.16, 1.94 and 2.63, respectively. The emission cross-section corresponding to the 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 transition at 576 nm is 3.75 × 10−21 cm2 (E//c) with a FWHM of 14 nm. The fluorescence time of the 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 transition is 0.411 ms while the radiative lifetime is 0.995 ms, so the crystal has a quantum efficiency of 41.3%. The results mean that the Dy3+:Sr3Gd2(BO3)4 crystal is a kind of potential solid state yellow laser material.