We demonstrate a high-peak-power and narrow pulse mid-infrared (MIR) laser with xenon-lamp pumping and La3Ga5SiO14 (LGS) Q-switching on the Cr,Er:YAP crystal grown by Czochralski method. X-ray powder diffraction and x-ray rocking curves suggest the crystal has high crystalline quality. Segregation coefficients of the Cr3 + and Er3 + in the as-grown Cr,Er:YAP crystal are 4.96 and 1.07, respectively. The absorption and fluorescence spectra indicate that the Cr,Er:YAP crystal is a promising material for MIR laser by xenon-lamp pumping. The fluorescence lifetimes of the upper (I11/24) and lower (I13/24) laser levels are 0.86 and 3.57 ms, respectively. A maximum energy of 632 mJ is acquired at 5 Hz by xenon lamp pumping. By the LGS electro-optic Q-switching technology, single pulse energy of 148.6 mJ is achieved at 5 Hz with a pulse width of 35.4 ns and peak power of 4.2 MW. The results show that the LGS Q-switched Cr,Er:YAP crystal pumped by xenon lamp possesses potential application as a short-pulse and high-energy laser device.
We demonstrate and compare the absorption spectra, laser performance and thermal lens effect of a-, b-, and c-cut 15 at% Er:YAP crystal in detail. The Er:YAP crystal along a-axis possesses larger absorption coefficient, but the b- axis Er:YAP crystal exhibits better laser performance. A maximum output power of 916 mW is achieved in the b-axis Er:YAP crystal with slope efficiency of 16.0%. As the important factors that affecting the laser performance of solid-state laser, the thermal lens effect of Er:YAP crystal is studied by simulate the temperature distributions and the thermally induced focal lengths. The result indicates that the b-cut Er:YAP crystal has a weaker thermal lens effect due to its high thermal conductivity and low temperature refractive index coefficient. All the result indicate that the b-cut Er:YAP crystal shows a better laser performance, which is a promising candidate for high performance CW mid-infrared laser.
We demonstrate the performance of a 968-nm laser-diode (LD) side-pumped Er,Pr:YAP laser in free-running and electro-optical (EO) Q-switched modes with emission at 2.7 μm, respectively. In the free-running mode, a maximum power of 11 W is achieved at a working frequency of 150 Hz and a pulse width of 200 μs, corresponding to the single pulse output energy of 73.3 mJ and slope efficiency of 13.3%. In the EO Q-switching mode, a giant pulse laser is obtained with pulse energy of 20.5 mJ, pulse width of 61.4 ns, and peak power of 0.33 MW at the highest working frequency of 150 Hz, corresponding to the energy extraction efficiency of 71.4%. In addition, dual-wavelength laser at 2713 and 2732 nm and beam quality factors Mx2/My2 of 6.62/6.66 are measured, respectively. The results indicate that a 2.7-μm laser with a high repetition rate and high peak power can be realized through LD side-pumped and EO Q-switched Er,Pr:YAP crystal.
We present a high-quality Cr,Nd:YAG crystal with 1.0 at. % Cr3 + and 1.1 at. % Nd3 + grown successfully by the Czochralski method. Spectroscopy results indicate that codoped Cr3 + ions are advantageous for improving pumping efficiency. The maximum average power of 20.24 W operated at 40 Hz and 1.06 μm is obtained on the Cr,Nd:YAG crystal, with electrical-to-optical and slope efficiencies that correspond to 3.00% and 3.77%. Meanwhile, the maximum average power of only 13.32 W is obtained on the Nd:YAG crystal, with the electrical-to-optical and slope efficiencies of 1.97% and 2.47%, respectively. In addition, the laser beam quality of the Cr,Nd:YAG crystal is comparative with that of the Nd:YAG crystal. Therefore, the Cr,Nd:YAG is a promising laser crystal with higher laser performance and stronger radiation-resistant ability than the Nd:YAG crystal. Thus, the Cr,Nd:YAG crystal can be applied to high-power systems and radiant environments.
Cr,Er:YSGG (Y3Sc2Ga3O12) crystals with 30 at. % Er3+ and two different concentrations of Cr3+ ions were grown by the Czochralski method. The spectra show the absorption coefficients at 450 and 654 nm and the fluorescence intensity at 2794 nm for 3 at. % Cr,Er:YSGG which are larger than those of 2 at. % Cr,Er:YSGG. A maximum pulse energy 1151.0 mJ operated at 5 Hz and 2.79 μm is obtained on the 3 at. % Cr,Er:YSGG crystal, corresponding to electrical-to-optical efficiency of 1.40%, slope efficiency of 1.71%, and threshold of 8.6 J. Under the same conditions, the values are 1029.8 mJ, 1.23%, 1.50%, and 12.6 J for 2 at. % Cr,Er:YSGG, respectively. Therefore, the 3 at. % Cr,Er:YSGG exhibits a larger output energy, higher laser efficiency, and lower pumping threshold. These results suggest that the laser performance of the Cr,Er:YSGG crystal can be improved by further optimizing the doping ions concentration and pumping parameters.
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