Crystal growth, spectra and laser properties of Tm3+ and Ho3+ co-doped GdScO3 crystal

Tm,Ho:GdScO3 single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. Its quality and effective segregation coefficient of crystal were characterized, and spectral properties of crystal (1 0 0) plane were studied. The absorption cross-section of Tm,Ho:GdScO3 at 793 nm is 1.61 x 10(-20) cm(2) and emission cross-section at 2020 nm is 1.39 x 10(-20) cm(2). The laser performance of the crystal by 793 nm LD end-pumped was investigated. The maximum output power of 240 mW was obtained with a slope efficiency of 9.1 % in CW(continuous wave) pump mode. In pulse mode, the maximum average output power of 507 mW was achieved. The maximum slope efficiency of 13.7 % was obtained with 100 Hz and 400 mu s. The laser wavelength was 2096 nm. The beam quality factors M-x(2)/M-y(2) were fitted to be 1.81/1.80. These results indicate that Tm,Ho:GdScO3 crystal is a promising candidate medium for near-infrared laser application.