Growth, thermal and polarized spectral properties of Nd3+-doped Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal

Research highlights: → Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal was grown by the top seed solution grown method. → Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal has a high laser damage threshold. → Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal has a high thermal expansion anisotropy. → The polarized spectral properties of the crystal were investigated. → The spectroscopic parameters were calculated based on the Judd-Ofelt theory. - Abstract: Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal has been grown from a Li2MoO4 flux by the top seed solution growth method (TSSG). The structure of the crystal was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The principal coefficients of thermal expansion along a, b and c-axes were precisely measured to be 1.62 x 10-5, 1.73 x 10-5 and 2.15 x 10-5 K-1, respectively. The specific heat value was 0.42 J/g K at 50 deg. C. The polarized spectral properties of Nd3+:Li3Ba2Gd3(MoO4)8 crystal were investigated and the spectroscopic parameters were calculated and analyzed based on the Judd-Ofelt theory. The absorption cross-sections around 805 nm were determined to be 15.13, 3.84 and 5.27 x 10-20 cm2 for E//b, E//D1 and E//D2, respectively. The emission cross-sections σem were determined to be 9.5 x 10-20 cm2 for E//b, 8.2 x 10-20 cm2 for E//D1, and 7.9 x 10-20 cm2 for E//D2, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime was measured to be 130 μs and the quantum efficiency was calculated to be 93%.