STOICHIOMETRIC YbVO4 AND Yb:YVO4 LASER CRYSTALS

Nd:YAG has been the laser of choice for many of the laser systems utilizing solid state lasers. However, this laser has many shortcomings, particularly for laser diode pumping that makes these systems both inefficient and large. Yb:YVO4 and YbVO4 have many features that makes them much more attractive as laser hosts than YAG. For example, in YVO4 the stimulated emission cross section for the Nd ion is over four times larger than in YAG. The only stumbling block to the commercialization of this material is the relatively poor crystal quality of YbVO4 and YVO4. This proposal addresses this problem. We are proposing to develop stoichiometric YbVO4 and Yb:YVO4 for laser applications based on the work of Dr. Erdei which demonstrated significantly improved crystal quality of YVO4 in early tests of his growth process.