Growth and thermal properties of Nd:GdVO4 single crystal

Nd:GdVO4 crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. Thermal expansion and specific heat were measured. The thermal expansion coefficients along the a and c axes are α1 = 1.5 × 10−6/K and α3 = 7.3 × 10−6/K, respectively. The specific heat is 32.6 cal/mol·K at 330 K. The large anisotropy along the c and a axes of the thermal expansion coefficients is explained by the structure of the GdVO4 crystal. These thermal properties show that Nd:GdVO4 is a crystal that can be used for high-power laser diode (LD) pumped lasers.