Single crystal growth and nonlinear optical properties of Nd3+ doped STGS crystal for self-frequency-doubling application

The self-frequency-doubling crystal is an important kind of multi-functional crystal materials. In this work, Nd3+ doped Sr3TaGa3Si2O14 (Nd:STGS) single crystals were successfully grown by using Czochralski pulling method, in addition, the nonlinear and laser-frequency-doubling properties of Nd:STGS crystals were studied. The continuous-wave laser at 1064 nm was demonstrated along different physical axes, where the maximum output power was obtained to be 295 mW for the Z-cut samples, much higher than the Y-cut (242 mW) and X-cut (217 mW) samples. Based on the measured refractive indexes, the phase matching directions were discussed and determined for type I (42.5 degrees, 30 degrees) and type II (69.5 degrees, 0 degrees) crystal cuts. As expected, self-frequency-doubling green laser at 529 nm was achieved with output powers being around 16 mW and 12 mW for type I and type II configurations, respectively. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.