Spectroscopic, Thermal, and Laser Properties of Yb:CaNb$_{2}$O$_{6}$ Crystal

In this paper, we report the room temperature spectroscopic and thermal properties and continuous-wave (CW) laser operation of a new ${\hbox {Yb}}{:}{\hbox{CaNb}}_{2}{\hbox{O}}_{6}$ crystal. The peak absorption cross section for the ${\rm E}\Vert{\rm a}$ polarization is $0.97\times 10^{-20}\ {\hbox {cm}}^{2}$ with a full-width at half-maximum of 28 nm at 975 nm. The stimulated emission cross section is $1.19\times 10^{-20}\ {\hbox {cm}}^{2}$ at 1062 nm. The thermal conductivities at room temperature are 5.40, 5.15, and 6.05 ${\rm Wm}^{-1}{\rm K}^{-1}$ along the a-, b-, and c-axis, respectively. The fracture strength of ${\hbox {Yb}}{:}{\hbox{CaNb}}_{2}{\hbox{O}}_{6}$ single crystal is 315 MPa. The properties of ${\hbox {Yb}}{:}{\hbox{CaNb}}_{2}{\hbox{O}}_{6}$ crystal were compared with those of typical Yb-doped materials. A CW output power of 801 mW at 1062 nm was obtained with a slope efficiency of 19% by use of diode pumping.