Growth and continuous-wave laser operation of disordered crystals of Yb3+:NaLa(WO4)2 and Yb3+:NaLa(MoO4)2

Single crystals of disordered NaLa(WO4)2 and NaLa(MoO4)2 doped with Yb3+ are grown by the Czochralski method from the melt. Continuous-wave laser operation with Ti:sapphire laser pumping is demonstrated at room temperature without special cooling. Tunability from 1017 to 1057 nm and from 1015 to 1053 nm is achieved for Yb:NaLa(WO4)2 and Yb:NaLa(MoO4)2, respectively. A maximum output power of 205 mW is obtained with Yb:NaLa(WO4)2.We acknowledge financial support through Projects MAT2002-4605-C05-05 and CAM-MAT-434-2004 (Spain) and DT-CRYS, NMP3-CT-2003-505580 (EU).Peer reviewe

Growth, optical characterization, and laser operation of a stoichiometric crystal KYb(WO4)(2)

We present our recent achievements in the growing and optical characterization of KYb(WO4)2 (hereafter KYbW) crystals and demonstrate laser operation in this stoichiometric material. Single crystals of KYbW with optimal crystalline quality have been grown by the top-seeded-solution growth slow-cooling method. The optical anisotropy of this monoclinic crystal has been characterized, locating the tensor of the optical indicatrix and measuring the dispersion of the principal values of the refractive indices as well as the thermo-optic coefficients. Sellmeier equations have been constructed valid in the visible and near-IR spectral range. Raman scattering has been used to determine the phonon energies of KYbW and a simple physical model is applied for classification of the lattice vibration modes. Spectroscopic studies (absorption and emission measurements at room and low temperature) have been carried out in the spectral region near 1 µm characteristic for the ytterbium transition. Energy positions of the Stark sublevels of the ground and the excited state manifolds have been determined and the vibronic substructure has been identified. The intrinsic lifetime of the upper laser level has been measured taking care to suppress the effect of reabsorption and the intrinsic quantum efficiency has been estimated. Lasing has been demonstrated near 1074 nm with 41% slope efficiency at room temperature using a 0.5 mm thin plate of KYbW. This laser material holds great promise for diode pumped high-power lasers, thin disk and waveguide designs as well as for ultrashort (ps/fs) pulse laser systems