Heat conduction of laser vanadate crystals

The heat conduction of laser vanadate crystals GdVO 4 and YVO 4 and their solid solutions is measured in the temperature interval from 50 to 350 K. Mixed rare-earth vanadates have the common chemical formula Re′ 1- x Re′′ x VO 4 , where Re′ and Re′′ are two or more types of ions from a series La 3+ , Pr 3+ , Nd 3+ , Sm 3+ , Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ , Ho 3+ , Er 3+ , Tm 3+ , Yb 3+ , Lu 3+ , Sc 3+ , Y 3+ . The heat conduction of Nd:YVO 4 measured at room temperature proved to be more than twice higher than that reported in the literature and in certificate characteristics of laser Nd:YVO 4 elements manufactured by numerous commercial companies. The empirical dependences of the heat conduction along the crystallographic axes 100 and 001 on the composition of rare-earth vanadates Re′ 1- x Re′′ x VO 4 , are obtained in the temperature interval from 200 to 350 K.