CW and Q-Switched Operation of a Low Threshold Cr+3:LiCaAlF6 Laser

摘要

We report the results of a study of a longitudinally-pumped Cr+3: LiCaAlF6(Cr:LiCAF) laser in which CW and repetitive Q-switched operation have been demonstrated for the first time. With a pump wavelength of 670 nm, a threshold of 49 mW and a slope efficiency of 37% were obtained. Output spiking was observed for pump powers as high as ten times threshold, but Q-switched operation produced a single 247 ns output pulse at 3 kHz.