Large-size Er,Yb:YAG Single Crystal: Growth and Performance

doi:10.15541/jim20220646

Abstract

Abstract:

Currently, although Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ co-doped YAG crystals are widely used in high power solid state lasers, there are still many challenges in growing large size, low defect doped YAG crystals using the Czochralski (Cz) method. In this paper, large-sized Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ co-doped YAG bulk crystal with a diameter of 80 mm and a length of 230 mm was obtained by the fast Cz growth method. Their structure, doping concentration, optical absorption, luminescence performances, and etching defects were evaluated.According to the Raman detecting results, there is no significant variation in the peak positions and full width at half maxima (FWHM) of the Raman peaks at different locations on the wafer, indicating that the crystal structure and strain at central and edge section of thel wafer are uniformity. The etching results show that the corrosion pits are evenly distributed over the entire corrosion surfacewithout dislocation corrosion pit, which means that the crystals are highly near perfect. Strong luminescence peaks of Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ at different wavelengths and glow discharge mass spectrometry results demonstrate the successful doping of rare earth ions in Er,Yb:YAG single crystals. This work successfully used the Cz method to grow large-sized, low-defect Er,Yb:YAG single crystals, confirming that the fast growth method is effective for doping double rare-earth ions in YAG crystals.

Key words: YAG single crystal, rare earth doping, fast Cz growth method, luminescence property

CLC Number:

O782

WANG Zhiqiang, WU Ji’an, CHEN Kunfeng, XUE Dongfeng. Large-size Er,Yb:YAG Single Crystal: Growth and Performance[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2023, 38(3): 329-334.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 Characteristics of as-grown Er,Yb:YAG single crystal and wafer (a) With diameter of 80 mm and length of 230 mm; (b) Wafer with a thickness of 1.5 mm; (c) XRD patterns for wafer and ground powder; (d) EDS pattern of the wafer

Fig. 2 Micrographs of wafer surface with (111) face (a, b) Before etching; (c, d) Etched in H3PO4 at 180 ℃ for 60 min

Fig. 3 Raman spectrum of Er,Yb:YAG

Fig. 4 Raman spectra of different points at Er,Yb:YAG wafer (a) Five points on a straight line; (b) Peak positions and FWHM obtained by Lorentz fitting at the 783 cm-1 band with nisets showing Er,Yb:YAG wafer and schematic diagram of Raman test points

Fig. 5 Optical absorption spectra of Er,Yb:YAG crystal in the range of 200-1050 nm at room temperature

Table 1 Correspondence between the experimentally observed absorption lines and energy levels of Er3+ in Er,Yb:YAG single crystal[11,33⇓⇓ -36]

Wavelength/nm	Assignment (from ground ⁴I_15/2)
255	⁴D_7/2
356	²K_15/2
364	²G_9/2
381	⁴G_11/2
407	²H_9/2
442	⁴F_3/2
450	⁴F_5/2
488	⁴F_7/2
518, 524	²H_11/2
542	⁴S_3/2
647, 655	⁴F_9/2
788	⁴I_9/2
961, 966	⁴I_11/2

Fig. 6 Emission spectra of Er,Yb:YAG crystal at room temperature (a) Excited by 382 nm; (b) Excited by 260 nm; Fluorescent decay curves of (c) 554 nm; (d) 405 nm emission; Colorful figures are available on website

References 38

[1]	MA X G, LI X Y, LI J Q, et al. Pressureless glass crystallization of transparent yttrium aluminum garnet-based nanoceramics. Nature Communications, 2018, 9(1): 1175. DOI PMID
[2]	SUN C T, XUE D. Study on the crystallization process of function inorganic crystal materials. Scientia Sinica Technologica, 2014, 44(11): 1123. DOI URL
[3]	SUN C T, XUE D. Chemical bonding in micro-pulling down process: high throughput single crystal growth. Science China Technological Sciences, 2018, 61(11): 1776. DOI
[4]	CHUBB D L, PAL A M T, PATTON M O, et al. Rare earth doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) selective emitters. Materials & Design, 2001, 22(7): 591. DOI URL
[5]	UPASANI M, BUTEY B, MOHARIL S V. Photoluminescence study of rare earth doped yttrium aluminum garnet-YAG:RE (RE: Eu³⁺, Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺). Optik, 2016, 127(4): 2004. DOI URL
[6]	GEORGIOU E, MUSSET O, BOQUILLON J P, et al. 50 mJ/30 ns FTIR Q-switched diode-pumped Er:Yb:glass 1.54 μm laser. Optics Communications, 2001, 198(1/2/3): 147. DOI URL
[7]	MIERCZYK Z, KWASNY M, KOPCZYNSKI K, et al. Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ doped active media for ‘Eye-Safe’ laser systems. Journal of Alloys and Compounds 2020, 300(1): 398.
[8]	YANG G, HAN J, LI X, et al. Growth of 8 inch Yb:YAG single crystal by Czochralski method. Journal of Synthetic Crystals, 2019, 48: 1216.
[9]	BAO R J, YU L, YE L H, et al. Compact and sensitive Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped YAG single crystal optical fiber thermometry based on up-conversion luminescence. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2018, 269: 182. DOI URL
[10]	GUO Y, HUANG L, ZHOU J, et al. Czochralski growth and investigation on the photoluminescence properties of YAG:Er single crystal. Journal of Synthetic Crystals, 2019, 48: 24.
[11]	NIZHANKOVSKYI S V, KOZLOVSKYI A A, KOVALENKO N O, et al. Optical and luminescence properties of Er,Yb:YAG crystals grown by horizontal directional crystallization method. Functional Materials, 2019, 26(1): 35. DOI URL
[12]	SUN C T, XUE D. Chemical bonding theory of single crystal growth and its application to ϕ3'' YAG bulk crystal. CrystEngComm, 2014, 16(11): 2129. DOI URL
[13]	SUN C T, XUE D. Crystal growth: an anisotropic mass transfer process at the interface. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2017, 19(19): 12407. DOI PMID
[14]	YANG P Z, DENG P Z, XU J, et al. Growth of high-quality single crystal of 30at% Yb:YAG and its laser performance. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2000, 216(1-4): 348. DOI URL
[15]	XU X D, ZHAO Z W, SONG P X, et al. Growth of high-quality single crystal of 50at% Yb:YAG and its spectral properties. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2004, 364(1/2): 311. DOI URL
[16]	XU X D, ZHAO Z W, WANG H H, et al. Spectroscopic and thermal properties of Cr,Yb:YAG crystal. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2004, 262(1-4): 317. DOI URL
[17]	ZHU M D, QI H J, PAN M Y, et al. Growth and luminescent properties of Yb:YAG and Ca co-doped Yb:YAG ultrafast scintillation crystals. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2018, 490: 51. DOI URL
[18]	BOGAERTS A, GIJBELS R. New developments and applications in GDMS. Fresenius Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 1999, 364(5): 367. DOI URL
[19]	DI SABATINO M. Detection limits for glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS) analyses of impurities in solar cell silicon. Measurement, 2014, 50: 135. DOI URL
[20]	YANG P Z, DENG P Z, YIN Z W, et al. The growth defects in Czochralski-grown Yb:YAG crystal. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2000, 218(1): 87. DOI URL
[21]	YIN H B, DENG P Z, GAN F X. Defects in YAG:Yb crystals. Journal of Applied Physics, 1998, 83(7): 3825. DOI URL
[22]	HURRELL J P, PORTO S P S, CHANG I F, et al. Optical phonons of yttrium aluminum garnet. Physical Review, 1968, 173(3): 851. DOI URL
[23]	PAPAGELIS K, KANELLIS G, VES S, et al. Lattice dynamical properties of the rare earth aluminum garnets (RE₃Al₅O₁₂). Physica Status Solidi B-Basic Solid State Physics, 2002, 233(1): 134. DOI URL
[24]	CHEN Y F, LIM P K, LIM S J, et al. Raman scattering investigation of Yb:YAG crystals grown by the Czochralski method. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 2003, 34(11): 882. DOI URL
[25]	PAPAGELIS K, KANELLIS G, ARVANITIDIS J, et al. Phonons in rare-earth aluminum garnets and their relation to lattice vibration of AlO₄. Physica Status Solidi B-Basic Research, 1999, 215(1): 193. DOI URL
[26]	QIU H W, YANG P Z, DONG J, et al. The influence of Yb concentration on laser crystal Yb:YAG. Materials Letters, 2002, 55(1/2): 1. DOI URL
[27]	WANG T, ZHANG J, ZHANG N, et al. The characteristics of high-quality Yb:YAG single crystal fibers grown by a LHPG method and the effects of their discoloration. RSC Advances, 2019, 9(39): 22567. DOI URL
[28]	WANG X D, XU X D, ZENG X H, et al. Effects of Yb concentration on the spectroscopic properties of Yb:Y₃Al₅O₁₂. Spectrochimica Acta Part A-Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2006, 63(1): 49. DOI URL
[29]	WANG X D, XU X D, ZHAO Z W, et al. Comparison of fluorescence spectra of Yb:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ and Yb:YAlO₃ single crystals. Optical Materials, 2007, 29(12): 1662. DOI URL
[30]	GUERASSIMOVA N, GARNIER N, DUJARDIN C, et al. X-ray-excited charge transfer luminescence in YAG:Yb and YbAG. Journal of Luminescence, 2001, 94: 11.
[31]	ZORENKO Y, GORBENKO V, SAVCHYN V, et al. Luminescence properties and energy transfer processes in YAG:Yb,Er single crystalline films. Radiation Measurements, 2013, 56: 134. DOI URL
[32]	SARDAR D K, RUSSELL C C, GRUBER J B, et al. Absorption intensities and emission cross sections of principal intermanifold and inter-stark transitions of Er³⁺ (4f¹¹) in polycrystalline ceramic garnet Y₃Al₅O₁₂. Journal of Applied Physics, 2005, 97(12): 123501. DOI URL
[33]	BURDICK G W, GRUBER J B, NASH K L, et al. Analyses of 4f¹¹ energy levels and transition intensities between stark levels of Er³⁺ in Y₃Al₅O₁₂. Spectroscopy Letters, 2010, 43(5): 406. DOI URL
[34]	ZHOU J, ZHANG W X, WANG L, et al. Fabrication, microstructure and optical properties of polycrystalline Er³⁺:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ ceramics. Ceramics International, 2011, 37(1): 119. DOI URL
[35]	SEKITA M, HANEDA H, SHIRASAKI S, et al. Optical spectra of undoped and rare‐earth‐(=Pr, Nd, Eu, and Er) doped transparent ceramic Y₃Al₅O₁₂. Journal of Applied Physics, 1991, 69(6): 3709. DOI URL
[36]	NIZHANKOVSKYI S V, KOZLOVSKYI A A, KOVALENKO N O, et al. Spectral properties of Er-doped yttrium aluminum garnet crystals grown by modified horizontal directional crystallization method. Functional Materials, 2018, 25(4): 646. DOI URL
[37]	BI F, DONG X T, WANG J X, et al. Facile electrospinning preparation and up-conversion luminescence performance of Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Er³⁺,Yb³⁺ nanobelts. Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials, 2014, 24(2): 407. DOI URL
[38]	KATARIA V, MEHTA D S. Investigation of concurrent emissions in visible, UV and NIR region in Gd₂O₂S:Er,Yb nanophosphor by diverse excitation wavelengths as a function of firing temperature. Optical Materials, 2019, 95: 109204. DOI URL