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Diamond-saw-diced multi-color ridge Pr,Gd:LiYF4 waveguide lasers
Optics Letters
|November 4, 2025
Summary
Epitaxial growth of Pr, Gd:LiYF4 created low-loss waveguides. These waveguides enabled efficient red channel laser operation, demonstrating potential for advanced optical devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optoelectronics
- Solid-State Physics
Background:
- Rare-earth doped LiYF4 crystals are promising for laser applications.
- Developing low-loss waveguides is crucial for integrated photonics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To grow single-crystalline Pr, Gd:LiYF4 layers for optical applications.
- To fabricate low-loss ridge waveguides from these layers.
- To investigate the laser performance and emission properties of Pr3+ ions.
Main Methods:
- Liquid phase epitaxy for growing 0.3 at.% Pr, 3.5 at.% Gd:LiYF4 layers.
- Precision diamond-saw dicing for microstructuring into ridge waveguides.
- Continuous-wave (CW) laser operation measurements at 639.6 nm.
Main Results:
- Fabricated low-loss (0.16 dB/cm) ridge waveguides with sub-nm surface roughness.
- Achieved 504 mW CW red channel laser output at 639.6 nm.
- Demonstrated high slope efficiency (57.8%), low threshold (34 mW), linear polarization, and good beam quality (M²=1.66).
Conclusions:
- Epitaxial growth and microstructuring yield high-performance waveguide lasers.
- Pr, Gd:LiYF4 waveguides show potential for efficient red light generation.
- Polarized emission properties of Pr3+ in epitaxial layers were characterized.
