Nd:YAG

Nd:YAG

Nd: YAG crystal, also known as a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet crystal, is a laser medium crystal with good comprehensive properties used for solid-state lasers. The atoms in the Nd: YAG crystal are excited by the flashlamp, producing amplified light that propagates at a specific wavelength (1064 nm). Nd: YAG is one of the well-established laser crystals obtained by doping Nd ions into YAG crystals.

Compared with Nd: YAG crystals, it has the following characteristics:

  • High optical quality
  • Good mechanical
  • Thermal properties

Nd: YAG laser crystals have absorption bandwidths of 730-760 nm and 790-820 nm and are usually pumped by flash tubes or laser diodes. Typical laser emission peaks at 1064 nm. Different measurements can also emit wavelengths at 946 nm, 1120 nm, 1320 nm, and 1440 nm lasers. Q-switched and locked modes are suitable for obtaining lasers of different wavelengths (532 nm, 266 nm, 213 nm, etc.) and pulse widths (10-25ns).

Nd: YAG crystals are widely used in various solid-state laser systems – frequency-doubling continuous-wave switching, high-energy Q-switching, etc. Usually, high-concentration doped crystals are used in pulsed lasers, and low-concentration doped crystals are typically used for continuous-wave output. Nd:YAG crystals have many applications in biophysics, medicine, the military, machinery, scientific research, and architecture.

Features of Nd: YAG crystal:

  • High gain coefficient
  • High slope efficiency
  • Laser threshold is low
  • Wide absorption bandwidth
  • Excellent optical, mechanical and physical properties

Material Specifications

Neodymium Concentration Tolerance(atm%)0.1- 2.5(+/-0.1)atm%
Orientation[001] or [110] or [111] <±0.5°
Parallelism10〞
Vertical
Surface Quality10-5(MIL-O-13830A)
Wavefront Distortionλ/4@632 nm
Surface Flatnessλ/8@632 nm
Clear Aperture>95 %
Chamfering<0.2×45°
Length of Tolerance+0.5/-0mm
Thickness/Diameter Tolerance±0.05 mm
The Largest Sizedia (3~12.7)×(3~150) mm
Damage Threshold>750 MW/cm2@1064 nm 10 ns 10 Hz
Extinction Ratio>30 dB(depends on the actual size)
Precision Grinding400 grit

Physical and Chemical Properties

Crystal StructureCubic – la3d
Lattice Constant12.01 Å
Density4.56 g/cm3
Melting Point1950 °C
Thermal Conductivity/(W·m-1·K-1 @ 25°C)0.14 W
Specific Heat/(J·g-1·K-10.59
Fracture Stress1.3-2.6*103 kg/cm2
Thermal Expansion Rate/(10-6·K-1 @ 25°C)[100] Orientation–8.2
[110] Orientation–7.7
[111] Orientation–7.8
Mohs Hardness8.5
Young's Modulus/ Gpa317
Shear Modulus/ Gpa54.66
Extinction Ratio25 dB
Poisson Ratio0.25

Optical and Spectral Properties

Laser Transition4F3/2 4I11/2
Photon Energy1.86×10-19 J
Laser Transition Wavelength,λl(nm)1064
Pump Transition Wavelength,λp(nm)808
Pump Transition Bandwidth,Δλp(nm)<4
Laser Transition Bandwidth,Δλl(nm)~0.6
Pump Transition Peak Section,σp(E-20 cm26.7
Cross Section of Laser Transition Peak,σl(E-20 cm228
Pump Transition Saturation Strengthφp(kW / cm212
Laser Transition Saturation Intensityφl(kW / cm22.6
Laser Transition Saturation Flux Γl,sat(J / cm20.6
Minimum Pump Strength Lmin(kW / cm2~0
Upper Laser Tube Life,τ(ms)0.26
Quantum Defect Fraction0.24
Fractional Heat Generation0.37
Refractive Index1.8197 @1.064 µm
Fluorescence Lifetime230 µs

Absorption and Emission Spectra

Nd YAG laser crystal emission spectrum CRYLINKNd YAG laser crystal absorption spectrum CRYLINK

References

[1] Siqi, Zhu, Zaijun, et al. A \\{LD\\} side-pumped deep ultraviolet laser at 266 nm by using a Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG/YAG composite crystal[J]. Optics & Laser Technology, 2014.
[2]  Panahibakhsh S ,  Jelvani S ,  Maleki M H , et al. Characterization of the optical properties of ArF laser irradiated Nd:YAG crystal[J]. Optik – International Journal for Light and Electron Optics, 2016.
[3] Lin, Hong-Yi, Sun, et al. Comparative study between Nd:GYSGG and Nd:YAG lasers passively Q-switched by a Cr:YAG crystal[J]. Journal for Light and Electronoptic, 2018.
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[6]  Panahibakhsh S ,  Jelvani S ,  Maleki M H , et al. Effect of XeCl laser irradiation on the defect structure of Nd:YAG crystals[J]. Optics & Lasers in Engineering, 2014, 60(sep.):12-17.
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[9]  Ren Y ,  Zhang L ,  Romero C , et al. Femtosecond laser irradiation on Nd:YAG crystal: Surface ablation and high-spatial-frequency nanograting[J]. Applied Surface Science, 2018, 441(MAY31):372-380.
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[11]  Yadegari M ,  Asadian M ,  Saeedi H , et al. Formation of gaseous cavity defect during growth of Nd:YAG single crystals[J]. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2013, 367(mar.15):57-61.
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[14] Meng-yao, Wu, Peng-fei, et al. Investigation of multi-segmented Nd:YAG/NdYVO4 crystals and their laser performance end-pumped by a fiber coupled diode laser[J]. Optik, 2019, 179:367-372.
[15]  Yuan Y ,  Li B ,  Guo X . Laser diode pumped Nd:YAG crystals frequency summing 589nm yellow laser[J]. Optik – International Journal for Light and Electron Optics, 2016, 127(2):710-712.
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[22]  Wei S ,  Junji Z . Preparation and properties of Yb:YAG and Nd:YAG nanocrystals[J]. Rare Metal Materials and Engineering, 2017, 46(3):591-595.
[23]  Banerjee J ,  Muralidhar K . Role of internal radiation during Czochralski growth of YAG and Nd:YAG crystals[J]. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2006, 45(2):151-167.
[24]  Nurmohammadi T . Optik – International Journal for Light and Electron Optics.  2014.
[25]  Kosti? S ,  Lazarevi? Z ? ,  Radojevi? V , et al. Study of structural and optical properties of YAG and Nd:YAG single crystals[J]. Materials Research Bulletin, 2015, 63:80-87.
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[27]  Ajates J G ,  Romero C ,  Castillo G R , et al. Y-junctions based on circular depressed-cladding waveguides fabricated with femtosecond pulses in Nd:YAG crystal: A route to integrate complex photonic circuits in crystals[J]. Optical Materials, 2017, 72:220.

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