| Popis: |
We report on the Bridgman crystal growth of Yb3+-doped LiLuF4 (LLF:Yb) for radiation balanced laser (RBL) applications. Crystals were grown on both radio-frequency (RF) heated and resistively heated furnaces starting from the binary fluorides LiF, LuF3, and YbF3. Graphite crucibles were found to introduce excessive amounts of carbon contamination, while glassy carbon crucibles offered significantly better results. In a preliminary experiment, a LLF:Yb crystal grown by this method showed laser-induced cooling when excited at 1055 nm with 810 mW in a setup with the crystal in air and measuring the temperature change by a thermal camera. |
