Single crystals of SrLaGaO_{4} and SrLaGa_{3}O_{7} singly doped with Nd and codoped with Nd and Yb have been grown by the Czochralski method. Both the compounds form tetragonal crystals but belong to different space groups. A common feature of these matrices is a structural disorder resulting from statistical distribution of Sr^{2+} and La^{3+} ions over the lattice sites. A previous investigation of a laser diode pumped SrLaGa_{3}O_{7}:Nd laser revealed that inhomogeneous broadening of spectral lines of Nd^{3+} was advantageous for optical pumping and did not influence adversely the extraction efficiency. The present paper deals mainly with optical properties of Yb^{3+} ions which are of interest for the design of lasers pumped by a diode laser and operating near 1 μm.
SrLaGaO_{4} and SrLaAlO_{4} substrates grown by the Czochralski method have no twins or subgrains however they show strong tendency to form point defects. The nature of these defects is not well understood yet. They may be associated with deviations from stoichiometry andor oxygen atoms located in the interstitial positions. Virtually all title crystals grown by the Czochralski method display various colours from light green to deeply red owing to light absorption by point defects. Absorption centres appear to be very stable in time and resistant to usual thermal treatment. UV excitation increases the density of defects and gives rise to strong photoluminescence, otherwise too weak to be observed.
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