In a conventional laser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF), Nd-doped phosphate glass is used as a gain medium. However, the repetition frequency operation of such a laser system is restricted by the low thermal conductivity of the phosphate glass. To attain a high ICF performance, the laser driver must be able to operate at a repetition frequency of no less than 10 Hz. Typically, an Nd-doped laser glass operates at a repetition frequency well below 10 Hz. In this paper, an Nd, Y:CaF2 crystal is taken as a gain medium for the laser amplifier, and experiments are carried out to demonstrate the capability of Nd, Y:CaF2 crystal to act as a gain medium for ICF laser driver. A laser-diode plane-array five-direction horizontal-side-pumped Nd, Y:CaF2 laser amplifier 5 mm70 mm is developed and an experimental study is carried out. The absorption spectrum and emission spectrum of Nd, Y:CaF2 crystal and the fluorescence distribution of the amplifier are measured. The Nd:CaF2 co-doped with Y3+ ions results in a broad absorption band, which makes the laser diode pumping more efficient. The strongest excitation band peak is centered around 796 nm. The small signal gains of Nd, Y:CaF2 and Nd:Glass working respectively at repetition frequencies of 10 and 1 Hz under the same pump power are measured. The small signal gain of Nd, Y:CaF2 amplifier reaches 6.12 under a pump power of 9.63 kW, which is 1.5 times that of Nd:Glass amplifier. The measurements of the spectrum of the seed beam and the spectrum from Nd, Y:CaF2 amplifier show that the signals have no change before and after being amplified. Most likely the Nd, Y:CaF2 crystal is a promising laser material for repetitive ICF laser drivers.