Preparation of Rare Earth Doped Yag Laser Materials.

摘要

This report describes the single crystal growth, laser rod fabrication and experiments on about 25 rare earth doped YAG systems. The objective was to examine specified compositions for possible lasing in the 1.5-4.0 micrometer range. Since a mature technology base is already available for Nd:YAG, any of the newly developed materials can be put in rapid production if necessary. The particular crystals were prepared with Er, Dy, Ho, Tm, Tm-Cr, Pr-Cr, Yb, Eu, and U dopants. Various concentrations of dopants were utilized. Large crystals were grown to extract up to 5 X 50mm laser rods. Different fabricated shapes were provided for spectroscopic studies or pumping by other lasers. Special coatings for new wavelengths were applied to permit optimum laser results. The final active testing was performed on each item at the Naval Research Laboratory.