Nd-doped structurally disordered YSr_(3)(PO_(4))_(3) single crystal:Growth and laser performances

Disordered-structure crystals have drawn increasing attention as promising ultrashort laser material hosts owing to their broad linewidth.Herein,a novel disordered Nd:YSr_(3)(PO_(4))_(3)(Nd:YSP)crystal with good quality was successfully grown via the Czochralski pulling technique.The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the Nd:YSP single crystal were recorded at ambient temperature.The maximum absorption cross section for Nd:YSP single crystal is found to be approximately 3.89×10^(-20) cm^(2).The stimulated emission cross section for Nd:YSP crystal at~1060 nm was determined to be 7.64×10^(20) cm^(2) with the full width half maximum value of 22 nm.The fluorescence lifetime of the Nd3+ions in the Nd:YSP crystal is fitted to be 288μs.Diode-pumped continuous-wave laser operation is firstly realized at approximately 1060 nm.The maximum output power value from the Nd:YSP crystal is 714 mW,corresponding to a slope efficiency of-12.8%.The results indicate that the Nd:YSP crystal with a disordered structure may be a promising disordered laser host.

Electro-elastic features of YBa3(PO_(4))3 and YbBa3(PO_(4))3 crystals with pure face-shear mode for acoustic wave sensor applications

The fundamental shear horizontal(SH0)waves have been proved to be a very useful method for nondestructive testing due to their non-dispersive characteristics.Currently,although several methods have been proposed to generate SH0 waves,it is still a challenge to obtain pure SH0 wave mode efficiently.Herein,in this study,non-centrosymmetric YBa3(PO_(4))3(YBP)and YbBa3(PO_(4))3(YbBP)crystals with pure face-shear mode were grown via the traditional Czochralski pulling method at temperatures above 1800℃.High resolution X-ray diffraction was carried out to evaluate the crystalline quality.Results showed that the YBP and YbBP crystals were of good quality,with the full width at half-maxima being on the order of 42.500 and 52.300,respectively.Moreover,the full set of electro-elastic constants for the YBP and YbBP crystals were determined and collated using a combination of impedance and pulse-echo methods.The piezoelectric coefficient(d14)of the YBP and YbBP crystals were determined to be 10.6 pC/N and 11.4 pC/N,respectively,corresponding to the electromechanical coupling coefficient(k14)equal to 15.4%and 15.9%,exhibiting large and pure face-shear vibration mode.Collectively,these results indicate that the YBP and YbBP crystals are promising for acoustic wave sensing application.