aFujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao West Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
bGraduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
Abstract:
Er3+-doped and Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped yttrium aluminum borate (YAB) single crystals have been grown by the top-seeded solution growth method using a new flux system, namely NaF–MoO3–B2O3. The Er3+ concentrations were 1.3 mol% for both single doped and co-doped crystals and the Yb3+ concentration in the Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped crystal was 20.0 mol% in the raw materials. The distribution coefficients of Er3+ single doped and Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped crystals were measured. The polarized absorption and fluorescence spectra of Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped crystal were recorded and compared with those of Er3+ single doped crystal. The results demonstrate that Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped YAB crystal is a potential candidate for 1.55 μm laser materials.