title: Growth, structure, thermal properties and spectroscopic characteristics of Nd3+-doped KGdP4O12 crystal.
abstract: A single crystal of Nd3+-doped KGdP4O12 was successfully grown with the top-seeded solution growth and slow cooling (TSSG-SC) technique. It crystallizes in space group C2/c with cell parameters a = 7.812(2) Å, b = 12.307(3) Å, c = 10.474(2) Å, β = 110.84(3)° and Z = 4. The IR and Raman spectra also indicated that the phosphoric polyhedra of Nd:KGdP4O12 has a cyclic symmetry. The chemical composition of the crystal was analyzed and the distribution coefficient of Nd3+ was calculated. The crystal morphology of KGdP4O12 was identified using X-ray diffraction. The compound has good thermal stability to 920°C. Its specific heat and thermal conductivity were determined for potential applications. The spectral properties of Nd:KGdP4O12 indicates that it exhibits broad absorption and emission bands, which are attributed to low symmetry of the crystal. The broad absorption band around 798 nm has a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 14.8 nm and is suitable for AlGaAs laser diode pumping. Moreover, 5 at% Nd3+-doped KGdP4O12 crystal has a long luminescence lifetime of 300 μs and a high quantum efficiency of 96%.
authors: The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Tongqing
authors: T
authors: Sun
authors: School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yu
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Pai
authors: P
authors: Shan
authors: School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Zichang
authors: Z
authors: Zhang
authors: The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; TEDA Applied Physics Institute, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Shaolin
authors: S
authors: Chen
authors: The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; TEDA Applied Physics Institute, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yongfa
authors: Y
authors: Kong
authors: The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; TEDA Applied Physics Institute, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors: Jingjun
authors: J
authors: Xu
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013816:Thermodynamics