Overview:
Nd:YVO4 crystal is one of the most efficient laser host crystal currently existing for diode laser pumped solid state lasers. Its large stimulated emission cross-section at lasing wavelength, high absorption coefficient and wide absorption bandwidth at pump wavelength, high laser induced damage threshold as well as good physical, optical and mechanical properties make Nd:YVO4 an excellent crystal for high power, stable and cost effective diode pumped solid-state lasers.
General Specifications Of Nd:YVO4:
Nd Dopant Level |
0.1-5.0atm% |
Scattering |
Invisible, probed with a He-Ne laser |
Orientation Tolerance |
±0.5deg |
Dimensional Tolerance |
±0.1mm |
Surface Quality |
10/5 Scratch and Dig |
Clear Aperture |
>90% |
Surface Flatness |
<λ/10@633nm |
Wavefront Distortion |
<λ/8@633nm |
Parallelism |
<10 arc seconds |
End-faces Configuration |
Plano/Plano |
Intrinsic Loss |
< 0.1%cm-1 |
Coating |
AR1064&HT808: R<0.1%@1064nm, R<5%@808nm
HR1064&HT808&HR532: R>99.8%@1064nm, R<5%@808nm, r="">99%@532nm
AR1064: R<0.1%@1064nm |
Physical Properties of Nd:YVO4:
Atomic Density |
~1.37x1020 atoms/cm3 |
Crystal Structure |
Zircon Tetragonal, space group D4h |
a=b=7.12, c=6.29 |
Density |
4.22 g/cm3 |
Mohs Hardness |
Glass-like, ~5 |
Thermal Expansion Coefficient |
a=4.43x10-6/K, c=11.37x10-6/K |
Optical Properties of Nd:YVO4 (typically for 1.1 atm% Nd:YVO4, a-cut crystals)
Lasing Wavelengths |
914nm, 1064nm, 1342nm |
Thermal Optical Coefficient |
dna/dT=8.5x10-6/K, dnc/dT=3.0x10-6/K |
Stimulated Emission Cross-Section |
25.0x10-19cm2@1064nm |
Fluorescent Lifetime |
90us @808nm, (50us @808 nm for 2atm% Nd doped) |
Absorption Coefficient |
31.4 cm-1@808nm |
Absorption Length |
0.32 mm @808nm |
Intrinsic Loss |
Less than 0.1% cm-1@1064nm |
Gain Bandwidth |
0.96 nm (257 GHz) @1064nm |
Polarized Laser Emission |
p polarization, Parallel to optic axis (c-axis) |
Diode Pumped Optical to Optical Efficiency |
>60% |
Crystal Class |
Positive uniaxial, no=na=nb, ne=nc,
no=1.9573, ne=2.1652, @1064nm
no=1.9721, ne=2.1858, @808nm
no=2.0210, ne=2.2560, @532nm |
Sellmeier Equation(for pure YVO4 crystals, λ in um) |
no2=3.77834+0.069736/(λ2-0.04724)-0.0108133λ2 ne2=4.59905+0.110534/(λ2-0.04813)-0.0122676λ2 |
Laser Properties (Nd:YVO4 VS Nd:YAG):
Laser Crystal |
Nd doped |
σ |
α |
τ |
La |
Pth |
η |
(atm%) |
(x10-19cm2) |
(cm-1) |
(cm-1) |
(mm) |
(mW) |
( %) |
Nd:YVO4(a-cut) |
1.1 |
25 |
31.2 |
90 |
0.32 |
78 |
48.6 |
2 |
72.4 |
50 |
0.14 |
Nd:YVO4(c-cut) |
1.1 |
7 |
9.2 |
90 |
|
231 |
45.5 |
Nd:YAG |
0.85 |
6 |
7.1 |
230 |
1.41 |
115 |
38.6 |
|