Growth and optical characteristics of Yb3+:β-LiY(WO4)2 crystal

Abstract Yb 3+ :β-LiY(WO 4 ) 2 crystal with the dimension up to 2.0 × 1.2 × 0.6 cm 3 has been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) technique. The hardness of Yb 3+ :β-LiY(WO 4 ) 2 crystal is 386.5 VDH. Yb 3+ :β-LiY(WO 4 ) 2 crystal exhibits a broad band at 978 nm, having an absorption cross-section of 2.33 × 10 −20 cm 2 and an FWHM of 7 nm. The feature of fluorescence spectrum is dominated by a broad band extending from 900 to 1100 nm with an FWHM of 87.6 nm. The fluorescence lifetime is 756 μs.