Cr/sup 4+/:YAG laser crystal grown by the laser-heated pedestal growth method

Summary form only given. The laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) method is suitable for growing fiber crystal and for examining various growth conditions. Using this method, we have tried to make a Cr/sup 4+/:YAG laser crystal, which is promising as an ultrashort light source at communication wavelengths near 1.5 /spl mu/m. It is commonly known that a strain region, which is called a facet, emerges in YAG crystal made from the melt, such as the one grown by the Czochralski method. The facetted region is inadequate for a lasing media. In the early stage of our study, the occurrence of such a strain region was inevitable. We discovered, however, a growing condition that suppresses facet formation. In this paper, we describe the production of the strain-free Cr/sup 4+/:YAG crystal by the LHPG method and also its lasing characteristic.