Growth and Optical Properties of Lithium Tantalate Single Crystals Doped with Indium and Neodymium

The congruent lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) single crystals doubly-doped with Nd3+ and In3+ ions arc grown by the Czochralski method. The ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra of these single crystals arc measured, the defect structures of these single crystals arc analyzed, and the threshold of the doping concentration of In3+ ion is obtained. When the doping concentration of In3+ ion reaches this threshold, the optical damage resistance ability of In: Nd: LiTaO3 crystals enhances significantly. The replacement of the anti -site Ta-Li(4+) by In3+ ions enhances the photo-conductivity of crystals and weakens the photorefractive effect. The full width at half maximum of the absorption peak of In: Nd: LiTaO3 crystals at the wavelength of 0.808 mu m is 15 nm, and the absorption cross-section is 5.26 X 10(-21) cm(2). With a 0.808 mu m semiconductor laser as the pumping source, a strong luminescence band of Nd1+ ions appears at the wavelength of 1.06 mu m. These study results show that the In: Nd: LiTaO3 crystals can be applied in high power photonic or integrated optoelectronic devices as the multi-functional crystals.