Abstract

The crystal growth of Yb:S-FAP [Yb³⁺:Sr₅(PO₄)₃F] is being studied for 1.047-µm laser operation. These crystals are not yet commercially available and the growth of high optical quality, low loss crystals of this size poses a challenge due to a number of crystal growth issues, including cloudiness, core defects, cracking, and slip dislocations which manifests themselves as wavy refractive index changes perpendicular to the c-axis of the crystal. The issues of cloudiness and cracking have been solved while core defects have been greatly diminished. Several potential solutions to the slip dislocation problem have also been proposed and will be implemented in future experiments. Current growth capabilities have produced the first crystals of greater than 5.0 cm diameter with limited defects.

© 1998 Optical Society of America