The term vanadate Laser is usually used for lasers based on neodymium-doped vanadate crystals. In particular, these include yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4), gadolinium vanadate (Nd:GdVO4), and lutetium vanadate (Nd:LuVO4). These vanadates are also called orthovanadates. Such materials have been known for a long time, but became popular only many years later, because for a long time it was difficult to grow them with high optical quality in sufficiently large size. Apart from progress in crystal growth, the advent of Diode pumping increased the interest in vanadates also because smaller crystals could be used.