Novel Nd3+ doped BZBO multifunctional crystals for continuous-wave laser applications.

• Nd3+ doped Bi 2 ZnB 2 O 7 crystals with different doping concentrations were grown using the Kyropoulos method. • The crystal structure and lattice parameters of Nd x Bi 2-x ZnB 2 O 7 were evaluated through powder X-ray diffraction. • The cw laser performance for the 2 at.% Nd: BZBO crystals was investigated for potential laser applications. Nd3+ doped Bi 2 ZnB 2 O 7 crystals (Nd x Bi 2-x ZnB 2 O 7) with varying doping concentrations were grown using the Kyropoulos method. The crystal structure of Nd x Bi 2-x ZnB 2 O 7 were evaluated through powder X-ray diffraction. The segregation coefficients of Nd3+ were determined by XRF to be 0.82 and 0.79 for 2 at.% and 5 at.% Nd: BZBO crystals, respectively. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the 2 at.% and 5 at.% Nd: BZBO crystals were 55.8 and 37.7 arcsec, respectively. The transmission, absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured. Moreover, the continuous-wave (CW) laser performance was investigated for the 2 at.% Nd: BZBO crystals. All the results indicated that the Nd:BZBO crystal chould potentially serve as a laser matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]