Thermal, spectral and laser performance data of Yb:YAG slab crystal grown by edge-defined film-fed growth method

The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the X-ray rocking curve is 36 arcsec, demonstrating the high quality of the EFG crystal. The performance of Yb:YAG crystals grown by the EFG and conventional Czochralski (Cz) methods is compared through a series of thermal and spectral tests.

The thermal conductivity of the EFG crystal is better than that of the Cz crystal at high temperature, and there is no Fe3+ related 250-300 nm absorption band in the EFG crystal. The maximum absorption, emission and gain cross sections of the EFG crystal are better than those of the Cz crystal. The laser experiments have shown that the EFG crystal laser is superior to the Cz crystal laser in terms of maximum output power, slope efficiency and corresponding optical-to-optical efficiency, which indicates that the crystal grown by EFG method has good laser performance and is expected to achieve high power laser applications.