Luminescence and Stimulated-Emission Properties of Laser Crystals in the Y₂O₃–Al₂O₃ System

Abstract

The key to the development of the laser-crystal physics of activated crystals has always been the search for new laser media. During the years after the laser effect was first observed, a great deal of experience was accumulated [6–8, 438–440], which allowed the synthesis of more than 170 insulating crystal matrices with different properties (see Tables 1.1–5). As previously mentioned, among them, up to now, only Y₃Al₅O₁₂ and YAlO₃ crystals doped with Nd³⁺ ions and ruby (Al₂O₃-Cr^{3 +}) fulfil to the greatest extent the requirements of contemporary quantum electronics and its applications. The remarkable feature of these compounds is the successful combination of reasonable spectral and stimulated-emission properties with a number of such essential qualities as high mechanical strength and hardness, considerable heat conductivity, and broad-band trans¬parency. A fact worthy of special attention is that all the enumerated crystals are from one physical-chemical system Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃. A comprehensive comparison of the properties of the crystals formed in this system may reveal the qualities which cause such a unique combination not only of physical but also of spectral and stimulated-emission properties¹.