Liquid Phase Epitaxy Growth, Spectroscopy and First Laser Operation of Yb3+:CaF2 Waveguides

Ytterbium-doped calcium fluoride (Yb:CaF
₂
) is a recognized material for short-pulse power-scalable oscillato] at ~1 μm [1]. It combines attractive thermo-mechanical properties of the host (thermal conductivity: 9.7 W/mK) wit smooth and broad gain spectra for Yb
³⁺
ions supporting broadband tuning of the laser emission and generation c sub-100 fs pulses in the mode-locking operation mode [1,2]. Nowadays, Yb:CaF
₂
crystals are widely used in high power bulk continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed lasers and amplifiers. In the present work, we aimed to explore th potential of this material in waveguide laser geometry.