It is necessary to evaluate new laser materials with increased wall plug efficiency. Currently semiconductor laser arrays hold the potential to be effective optical pumping sources. In order to utilize the semiconductor arrays effectively it is necessary to have laser materials with longer upper level laser lifetime than the commonly used Nd:YAG laser. This work will study the feasibility for the growth of ND:lanthanum fluoride crystals using the heat exchanger method. These crystals have shown a lifetime of 670 microseconds and interesting high temperature laser properties. Emphasis will be placed on minimizing the contamination from the oxide and hydroxyl ions which is known to degrade the optical quality of these crystals. The grown crystals will be characterized for optical quality and laser performance.
