Effective Faraday rotator based on the TbYO crystal with a high Verdet constant and a high thermal conductivity.

Facing the demand of high-power laser development, a high-quality magneto-optical crystal with a high Verdet constant and a high thermal conductivity is needed. Herein, an effective Faraday rotation based on a TbYO single crystal with a strong magneto-optical effect, grown by the laser floating zone method, is demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The TbYO crystal has the Verdet constant which is 2.16 times (106 rad·m T) higher than that of the TGG crystal (49 rad·m T) at 880 nm. Additionally, the TbYO crystal also has a thermal conductivity of 11.8 W·m·K and a laser-induced damage threshold of 1.59 GW·cm. These advantages can allow the TbYO crystal to be an attractive magneto-optical material.