Growth and magneto-optical characteristics of cerium-doped terbium gallium garnet by the floating zone method

Cerium-doped terbium gallium garnet single crystal having a large Verdet constant was grown by floating zone (FZ) method, which was suitable for the use in optical devices. The lattice parameters and the X-ray rocking curve measurement of the crystal was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The Verdet constant of the crystal (B = 0.55 T) at the wavelength of 632.8 nm was -165.8 rad m(-1) T-1 at room temperature, 23.7% larger than that of pure TGG (-134.0 rad m(-1) T-1). The performance of the high optical quality and excellent magneto-optical properties of the crystal shows the great potential of using this new method to meet the increasing demand of VI-NIR Faraday rotators.