CHARACTERIZATION OF A LONGITUDINALLY PUMPED CW, ROOM-TEMPERATURE OPERATION OF TM3-YVO4 LASER()

Spectroscopic measurements were carried out to identify the fundamenta l optical properties of the Tm3+:YVO4 crystal (5 at.% Tm3+ ion concent ration) as a laser medium. Absorption spectra, emission cross section versus wavelength of the F-3(4)-H-3(6) laser transition, and effective radiative lifetimes closely related to the laser diode pumping kineti cs were derived from the measurements. We developed a rate equation mo del to describe the laser oscillation characteristics in terms of the lasing spectra. The theoretical results agreed well with the experimen tal results.