Abstract
Currently,Tb_3Ga_5O_<12>(TGG) single crystal is used as Faraday rotator in the laser machinery whose wavelength is <1100nm. However, TGG have problems of such as low Faraday rotation angle, difficult crystal growth,high cost, and so on. In order to overcome these problems, we focused on Tb_3(Sc,Lu)_2Al_3O_<12>(TSLAG) single crystal. The optical and magneto-optical properties of the TSLAG crystal are analyzed in detailed and compared with those of the reference compound TGG. TSLAG presents a very low absorption coefficient, particularly lower than that of TGG in the visible region, and its Verdet constant is 20% larger at any wavelength. To achieve cost reduction, we tried to grow large TSLAG single crystal. At initial experiments, TSLAG was cracked by the internal stress of the crystal, and thermal stress. By optimizing the growth conditions, TSLAG single crystal was successfully grown with 2.0 inch in diameter. We has realized an optical isolator using TSLAG single crystal for the first time.
