Growth and spectroscopic characterization of Er3+:Sr3Y(BO3)3 crystal

This paper reports the growth and spectroscopic characterization of Er3+:Sr3Y(BO3)(3) Crystal. Er3+:Sr3Y(BO3)(3) crystal with dimensions up to phi 20 x 35 mm(3) has been grown by Czochralski method. The polarized spectroscopic properties of Er3+:Sr3Y(BO3)(3) crystal were investigated. Based on the Judd-Ofelt theory, the effective intensity parameters Or were obtained: Omega(2) = 1.71 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4) = 1.39 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(6) = 0.74 x 10(-20) cm(2) for pi-polarization, and Omega(2) = 1.77 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4) = 1.44 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(6) = 0.65 x 10(-20) cm(2) for sigma-polarization. The emission cross-section sigma(em) was calculated to be 4.75 x 10(-21) cm(2) for pi-polarization at 1536 nm and 6.30 x 10(-21) cm(2) for sigma-polarization at 1537 nm. The investigated results showed that Er3+:Sr3Y(BO3)(3) crystal may be regarded as a potential laser host material for 1.55 mu m IR solid-state lasers. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.