Abstract

Cr sensitization for flashlamp pumping was introduced in the 1960s as a means for coupling the output spectrum of flashlamps more efficiently to the laser active medium. This sensitization technique provided a mechanism through which high efficiency could be realized in flash pumped neodymium lasers. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and in the Soviet Union conclusively demonstrated that tor laser operation, around 1 µm, Cr;Nd:GSGG is much more efficient than Cr;Nd:YAG because of increased Cr-Nd transfer in the scandium garnets. In 1985 Antipenko and co-workers demonstrated a Cr-sensitized, room-temperature Tm;Ho:YAG flashpumped 2.1-µm laser.¹ Recent Soviet publications have concluded that the scandium garnets are the preferred hosts not only for the Nd-based 1-µm lasers, but also for the 2-µm lasers using heavier rare-earth ions.² This conclusion is contrary to our observations on the laser performance of Cr;Tm- and Cr;Tm;Ho-doped garnets, in which Cr-Tm transfer efficiency varies little between the aluminum and scandium based crystals.^3,4

© 1991 Optical Society of America