Growth, thermal and polarized spectral properties of Nd3+-doped Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal

Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)(8) crystal has been grown from a Li2MoO4 flux by the top seed solution growth method (TSSG). The structure of the crystal was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The principal coefficients of thermal expansion along a, b and c-axes were precisely measured to be 1.62 X 10(-5), 1.73 x 10(-5) and 2.15 x 10(-5) K-1, respectively. The specific heat value was 0.42 J/g K at 50 degrees C. The polarized spectral properties of Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)(8) crystal were investigated and the spectroscopic parameters were calculated and analyzed based on the Judd-Ofelt theory. The absorption cross-sections around 805 nm were determined to be 15.13, 3.84 and 5.27 x 10(-20) cm(2) for E//b, E//D1 and E//D2, respectively. The emission cross-sections sigma(em) were determined to be 9.5 X 10(-20) cm(2) for E//b, 8.2 x 10(-20) cm(2) for E//D1, and 7.9 x 10(-20) cm(2) for E//D2, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime was measured to be 130 mu s and the quantum efficiency was calculated to be 93%. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.