Crystal Growth and Spectral Properties of Yb3+:KY(WO4)2

Laser crystal Yb:KYW was grown by the Kyropoulos method. A grown crystal was identified as β-Yb:KYW by XRD. By TG-DTA the melting point and transition point of the crystal are 1045 and 1010 °C, respectively. Infrared spectrum and Raman spectrum were measured, and the vibrational frequencies of infrared and Raman active modes for Yb:KYW crystal were assigned. Absorption spectrum of Yb:KYW shows that there are two intensive absorption peaks at 940 and 980 nm, respectively, and the absorption cross section is 1.34 × 10−19 cm2 at chief peak of 980 nm. There exist three intensive emission peaks in Yb:KYW at 990, 1010 and 1030 nm, respectively, and the emission line width of the chief peak 1030 nm runs up to 16 nm. It was calculated that the peak emission cross section is 3.1 × 10−20 cm2 at 1030 nm.