Abstract: A new YVO₄-Nd∶YVO₄ composite crystal was grown by a modified Cz method, a 0.10%~0.25%(atomic ratio) concentration gradient doping of Nd³⁺ in the middle part of the crystal was achieved. In the crystal, the weak absorption coefficient of the Nd³⁺ doped region is larger than that of the un-doped region, indicating the interface absorption phenomenon. By observing the absorption of the pump light by the composite crystal and temperature distribution in the crystal, it is found that the pumping absorption of the crystal along the axial direction is relatively uniform, and the temperature gradient in the crystal is relatively small. The uncoated composite crystal samples achieve well performance of CW laser at 1 064 nm, with a light-to-light conversion efficiency of 37.0% and a slope efficiency of 40.9%.

Key words: vanadate crystal, composite crystal, laser crystal, concentration gradient, weak absorption, temperature gradient, laser performance