Temperature-dependent stimulated emission cross section in Nd^3+:YVO_4 crystals

Spectroscopic properties of neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate crystals were measured in the temperature range between 5 and 350 K. Crystals fabricated by different suppliers, with 0.3 and 1 at% Nd3+, were compared. For each temperature, the stimulated emission cross sections of the Nd3+ 4F3/2 decay to the 4I9/2, 4I11/2, and 4I13/2 states were obtained using the Fuchtbauer-Ladenburg and the reciprocity techniques. Nd:YVO4 shows higher absorption at room temperature and higher stimulated emission cross section with similar variation with temperature when compared with Nd:YAG. The anomalous dependence on temperature of the Nd3+ 4F3/2 excited-state lifetime is discussed and an explanation is suggested.