DIODE-PUMPED EMISSION OF TM3-DOPED CA2AL2SIO7 CRYSTALS()

A diode-pumped Tm:Ca2Al2SiO7 (Tm:CAS) laser has been demonstrated for the first time to the authors' knowledge. A 39-mW output power and an 8.6% slope efficiency were obtained at -11 degrees C. The most attract ive features of Tm:CAS are a broad absorption band near 785 nm and a l arge ground-state splitting. The improvement in laser performance expe cted from the large Stark splitting is shown to be limited by the enha ncement of multiphonon relaxation processes and by the low thermal con ductivity of the crystal. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.