Optical spectroscopy of Dy3+-doped CaGdAlO4 single crystal for potential use in solid-state yellow lasers

The crystal growth, optical spectra and lifetime of Dy:CaGdAlO4 crystal were investigated for the first time to our best knowledge. Single Dy:CaGdAlO4 crystal with size of phi 4 x 40 mm(3) was grown by floating zone method. The peak absorption cross-sections were calculated to be 2.43 x 10(-21)cm(2) and 1.28 x 10(-21) cm(2) at 453 nm for sigma and pi polarizations. The Judd-Ofelt (JO) parameters of 02, 04 and 06 were calculated to be 1.8 x 10(-2)0cm(2), 1.0 x 10(-20)cm(2) and 0.5 x 10(-20)cm(2), respectively. The emission cross-sections were calculated to be 0.51 x 10(-20)cm(2) and 0.55 x 10(-20)cm(2) for a and pi polarizations. The fluorescence decay time is 222 mu s. The results indicate that the Dy:CaGdAlO4 crystal is a potential candidate for yellow laser operation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.