Er:YAG (Erbium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) Crystal
Keywords:
Scintillation Crystals
- Product Introduction
- Key advantages
- Application areas
- Product Features
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- Commodity name: Er:YAG (Erbium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) Crystal
Er:YAG (Erbium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) crystal, with the chemical formula Er:Y₃Al₅O₁₂, is created by doping Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) crystals with erbium (Er) atoms. It is widely used in the field of fiber optic communications due to its high birefringence coefficient and wide transmittance range, among other excellent optical properties.
Product Introduction
Er:YAG (Erbium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) crystal, with the chemical formula Er:Y₃Al₅O₁₂, is created by doping Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) crystals with erbium (Er) atoms. It is widely used in the field of fiber optic communications due to its high birefringence coefficient and wide transmittance range, among other excellent optical properties.
The base material for Er:YAG crystals is YAG itself—a crystalline substance with a cubic crystal structure. In this process, yttrium ions within the YAG lattice are partially replaced by erbium ions, resulting in an erbium-doped YAG crystal. These erbium ions are uniformly distributed throughout the crystal, enabling consistent gain in laser applications.
Er-YAG crystals belong to the cubic crystal system and are a promising solid-state laser material for the mid-infrared wavelength range. At room temperature, they can emit laser light at three distinct wavelengths: 1.64 μm, 1.78 μm, and 2.94 μm. Notably, the 1.64 μm and 1.78 μm wavelengths fall within the eye-safe spectral region. Meanwhile, Er-YAG’s emission wavelength of 2940 nm coincides with a strong water absorption peak, making it highly effective at being absorbed by water molecules—and thus ideal for targeting hydroxyl groups in biological tissues. As a result, Er-YAG lasers have become widely used in medical applications, including surgical procedures, dermatological treatments for skin rejuvenation and aesthetics, dental therapies, and even medical blood collection techniques. Moreover, the Er-YAG laser’s specific wavelength makes it an excellent choice for addressing a variety of skin concerns associated with aging and pigmentation issues, such as hyperpigmentation, photo-induced skin damage, solar elastosis, acne scars, and traumatic scarring. It’s also particularly effective for reducing fine lines, mild to moderate wrinkles, uneven skin texture, and loose, sagging skin.
Key Advantages
- Isotropic Crystals (cubic symmetry)
- High Thermal Conductivity
- Low Scattering Loss
- A Strong Absorption Bandwidth near 1470 nm, corresponding to the emission of InGaAsP/InP laser diodes
- The Emission Spectrum at 1617 nm shows no absorption in the atmosphere.Application Areas
- Medical applications: 2.94µm laser for dermatology & aesthetics, oral surgery, dentistry (including implantology), and ENT procedures; also used for medical blood collection.
- Optical Communication 1600nm Laser
- Material processing, microfabrication, welding, and cutting
- High-efficiency, high-power thin-disk laser
- Continuous-wave and Q-switched, eye-safe (~1.6 μm) intracavity-pumped lasers for military applications, including lidar, telemetry, or active imagingProduct Features
Basic Material Properties
Crystal Structure
Cubic
Melting Point
1970°C
Density
4.56±0.04 g/cm³
Specific Heat
0.59 J/g·cm³
Laser Wavelength
2940 nm
Main Pump Band Range
600–800 nm
Photon Energy
6.75×10-20J@2940nm
Launch Cross-section
3×10-20cm²
Mohs Hardness
8.5 Mohs
Poisson's Ratio
0.3
Tensile Strength
0.13–0.26 GPa
Thermal Expansion Coefficient
<100>Direction:8.2×10 -6/10°C to 250°C
<110>Direction:7.7×10 -6/10°C to 250°C
<111>Direction:7.8×10 -6/10°C to 250°C
Thermal Conductivity
14 W/m/K at 20°C
10.5 W/m/K at 100°C
Thermal-Optic Coefficient
dn/dT=7.3×10-6/k
Refractive Index
1.79@2940 nm
Product Processing Indicators
Oritentation
<111>
Doping Concentration
0.2–50 atm%
Effective Aperture
>90%
Size Range
Diameter:1 mm–20 mm,
Length:10 mm–1500 mm
Dimensional Tolerance
Φ:+0/-0.04 mm, L:+0.5/-0 mm
Chamfer
≤0.2×45°
Surface Quality
10-5 S-D
Flatness
≤λ/10@632.8 nm
Wavefront Distortion
≤λ/8@633 nm
Parallelism
<20"
Perpendicularity
≤10′
Extinction Ratio
≥25 dB
Coating
AR:R≤0.20%@2940 nm
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- Excellent thermal conductivity
- Multiple possible pump wavelengths (typically 532 nm)
- Broad-wavelength tunability
- Broadly Absorbing Pump Band
- Outstanding output efficiency
- Short-lived excited state (3.2 μm)
- Narrow mode-locking width
- High damage threshold -
- Mode-locked laser with ultrashort pulses
- Multi-channel Amplifiers and Regenerative Amplifiers
- The tunable wavelength range allows Ti:Sapphire lasers to replace dye lasers in many applications.
- By using ultra-thin, non-critically phase-matched crystals like BBO as frequency-doubling devices, Ti:Sapphire lasers can generate ultrashort pulses as short as below 10 fs, producing light in the ultraviolet to deep-ultraviolet range—down to as low as 193 nm.
-Ti:Sapphire is also widely used as a pump source for optical parametric oscillators to broaden their tuning range. -
Basic Material Properties Molecular formula Ti³⁺:Al₂O₃ Crystal structure Hexagonal crystal system Lattice constant a = 4.758 Å, c = 12.991 Å Density 3.98g/cm3 Melting point 2040°C Mohs Hardness 9Mohs Thermal conductivity 52W/m/k Specific heat 0.42J/g/K Laser generation Four-level system Fluorescence lifetime 3.2 μs (T = 300 K) Tuning range 660-1050nm Absorption range 400-600nm Emission peak 795nm Absorption peak 488nm Refractive index 1.76 @ 800 nm Peak cross-section 3–4 × 10⁻¹⁹ cm² Coefficient of thermal expansion 8.40 × 10⁻⁶/°C Product Processing Metrics Directional The C-axis is the optical axis direction, which is perpendicular to the crystal surface. Ti2O3 concentration 0.06–0.26 at.% Quality factor 100–300 units Effective Aperture >90% Surface Dimension Tolerance 0 / -0.1 mm Thickness Tolerance ±0.1 mm Protective Chamfer ≤0.2 × 45° End face Double parallel planes or Brewster-cut ends Surface finish 10-5 S-D Flatness ≤λ/8 @ 633 nm Transmitted Wavefront Distortion ≤λ/4 @ 633 nm Parallelism 30" Verticality ≤15′ Custom film system services available
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