Yb³⁺:YAG crystal growth with controlled doping distribution

Current work is dedicated to theoretical and experimental studies on YAG single crystals performance with non-homogeneous activator ion distribution. Improved lasing characteristics are described and quantified theoretically. The first crystals with such a distribution have been obtained as a result of several growth attempts using Horizontal Direct Crystallization method (Bagdassarov's method). Extracted from the asgrown boules, samples have been optically treated and studied further. The preparatory phase, growth process and equipment as well as post-growth studies of the extracted samples are equally presented in this paper. Energydispersive X-ray analyses were used to quantify the doping distribution values in the grown crystals. Optical transmission experiments were performed to verify the optical characteristics of the as-grown crystals.