Growth, Elastic, Thermal, and Crystal Field Analysis of the Yb3+:YScSi2O7 Laser Crystal

Elastic and thermal properties of the YScSi2O7 crystal have been simulated theoretically. The mechanical and thermal properties of YScSi2O7 are better than those of Lu2Si2O7 with the same crystal structure. An Yb3+:YScSi2O7 single-crystal rod has been grown by the micropulling-down method. The 2F7/2 ground-state splitting of Yb3+ in YScSi2O7 is up to 924 cm–1. Based on the superposition model (SPM), the intrinsic crystal field parameters of Yb3+:YScSi2O7 have been obtained. All the results indicate that Yb3+:YScSi2O7 is a potential material for the Yb3+ laser with excellent mechanical and thermodynamic properties.