Crystal of Yb3+-doped alpha-Ba3Y(BO3)(3) has been grown by the Czochralski method. The spectroscopic characterizations have been investigated at room temperature. Yb3+:alpha-Ba3Y(BO3)(3) crystal exhibits the broad absorption at 976 nm with an FWHM of 5 nm and a large overall spitting of F-2(7/2) manifold (912 cm(-1)). The absorption and emission cross-sections are 1.10 x 10(-20) cm(2) at 976 nm and 1.16 x 10(-21) cm(2) at 1060 nm, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime is 2.1 ms. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.