QUASI-CONTINUOUS OPERATION OF AN LIF LASER WITH F-2(-) COLOR-CENTERS

Highly efficient and practically continuous (with an off-duty factor l ess than 50) operation of an LiF:F-2(-) colour-centre laser was observ ed when it was pumped by radiation from neodymium lasers with an avera ge output power 0.2-1.5 W. The use of an Nd3+:YLiF4 pump laser emittin g at a shorter (1047 nm) wavelength made it possible to reduce the pea k value of the threshold pump power to 10 W. Tunable operation of the LiF:F-2(-) laser was achieved in the spectral range 1.07-1.27 mu m and the efficiency at the maximum of the tuning curve reached 32%.