Yb:YAG is promising laser-active materials and more suitable for diode-pumping than traditional nd-doped systems. It can be pumped at 0.94mm laser output. Compared with the commonly used Nd:YAG crystal, Yb:YAG crystal has a much larger absorption bandwidth to reduce thermal management requirements for diode lasers.

Yb:YAG optical and physical properties. Crystal structure              Cubic Lattice parameters            A=B=C=12.01Å Density                 4.56g/cm3 Melting point              1970℃ Mohs hardness             8.5 Thermal expansion coefficient       7.8 x10-6/℃ [111] Thermal conductivity           14w/m/k @20℃ Loss coefficient             0.003cm-1 Refractive index             1.82 dn/dT                  9x10-6/℃ Lasing wavelength            1030nm, 1050nm Fluorescence lifetime           1.2ms Emission cross section          2.2x10-20mm Pump wavelength            0.9~1.0mm Absorption bandwidth          18nm Yb dopant                5—30%