Abstract

New laser applications as air pollutant measurement, free-space communications, range-finding, target illumination, molecular spectroscopy, medicine treatment or biomedical diagnostics, industrial technologies (plastics shaping, cutting, welding, marking) require the laser radiation at the wavelength in the mid-infrared region. Meanwhile, the lasers based on gas (CO), semiconductor (lead-salt), quantum cascade lasers, or lasers using nonlinear effects (as OPO) are used for radiation generation in this region. From solid state lasers, which are preferable for the applications due to their robustness and compactness, the iron-doped Fe²⁺:ZnSe lasers were extensively studied in last years and for example laser generation in the wavelength range 3.8-5.05 μm was demonstrated [1]. Modification of the Fe²⁺ ion local environment in solid solution as Zn_1-xMg_xSe, Zn_1-xMn_xSe, or Cd_1-xMn_xTe leads to a shift of electronic levels positions and thus changes the fluorescence spectrum shape and oscillation wavelengths farther to the mid-IR region [2]. We have demonstrated the Fe:Cd_1-xMn_xTe laser operation at 77 – 240 K and recently also room temperature laser generation up to 6 μm [3,4]. Other materials as Fe:CdSe are also studied and tunable laser operation in 5 – 6 μm was published recently [5]. In this contribution the spectroscopic properties as well as room temperature laser operation will be presented.

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