Crystal growth and characterization of 4 in. YCa4O(BO3)3 crystal

YCa4O(BO3)(3) (YCOB) is an important nonlinear optical crystal with good thermal, mechanical and nonlinear optical properties. However, growth of YCOB with large size and high quality was seldom reported. In this work, 4 in. YCOB crystals without inclusions and cleavages were grown successfully. These YCOB crystals exhibit excellent nonlinear optical properties, and have been used in high-energy and high-power ultra-short laser systems successfully. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.