No abstract

No abstract

Dramatic spectral narrowing of two normally broadband lasers, Ti:sapphire and Cr:LiSAF, was achieved by simply replacing the output mirror with a reflective, volumetric Bragg grating recorded in photothermal refractive glass. The output power of each laser was unchanged from that obtained using dielectric coated output mirrors with the same output coupling as the Bragg grating while spectral brightness increased by 3 orders of magnitude.

A linear temperature dependence between -70 degrees C and +70 degrees C is reported for the peak stimulated emission cross section of Nd3+ ions in both yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) and gadolinium scandium gallium garnet (GSGG).

PACS 42.55. Rz, 42.70.Hj, 78.45.+h, 78.55.Hx Measurements are reported of the spectroscopic properties (absorption and emission spectra, stimulated emission cross section, and radiative lifetime) of Nd : YAG crystals doped with 1, 2 and 3 at% Nd 3+ in the temperature range between 70 and 300 K. The stimulated emission cross sections for these crystals were determined using the Füchtbauer -Ladenburg (F -L) formula at each different temperature. The absorption spectra at room temperature were used to calculate the 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 stimulated-emission cross section and the 4 F 3/2 radiative lifetime according to Judd -Ofelt theory. As the temperature decreases the emission cross section increases, while the emission lifetime remains constant for all the samples. The temperature dependences of the stimulated emission cross sections for the differently doped crystals are in good agreement with earlier predictions. The concentration quenching effect in highly doped Nd : YAG was also addressed. Although there is concentration quenching in the highly doped Nd : YAG crystals, they are still promising efficient laser materials for high-power microchip solid-state lasers.