neodymiumdoped

Neodymium-doped materials are optical media in which trivalent neodymium ions (Nd3+) are introduced as dopants to create active laser or fluorescent centers. The Nd3+ ions have discrete energy levels that can absorb pump photons, relax to a metastable state, and emit photons in the near-infrared region, most notably near 1064 nm. The dominant laser transition is from the 4F3/2 level to the 4I11/2 level, a feature exploited in many hosts.

Common hosts include crystalline ceramics and glasses such as neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG), neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO4), and various Nd-doped phosphate or fluoride crystals, as well as Nd-doped glasses and optical fibers. These materials support diode pumping, typically around 808 nm, with emission near 1064 nm; some Nd-doped hosts also exhibit lines near 1330–1350 nm.

Doping levels are typically a fraction of a percent up to a few percent, chosen to balance absorption, gain, and thermal management. Nd-doped media are valued for relatively long excited-state lifetimes, broad absorption bands for diode pumping, and good mechanical and thermal properties in crystalline hosts.

Applications include solid-state lasers (for example, Nd:YAG and Nd:YVO4 lasers), surgical and dermatological devices, rangefinding, and research in spectroscopy and nonlinear optics. Nd-doped fibers underpin certain infrared fiber lasers and amplifiers. The field is a major component of solid-state laser technology and photonics.