Neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate  Neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO4) is a crystalline material formed by adding neodymium ions to yttrium orthovanadate. It is commonly used as an active laser medium for diode-pumped solid-state lasers. It comes as a transparent blue-tinted material. It is birefringent, therefore rods made of it are usually rectangular. As in all neodymium-doped laser crystals, the lasing action of Nd:YVO4 is due to its content of neodymium ions, which may be excited by visible or infrared light, and undergo an electronic transition resulting in emission of coherent infrared light at a lower frequency, usually at 1064 nm (other transitions in Nd are available, and can be selected for by external optics).