This paper discusses the results of studies of activated laser crystals in
the interests of creating efficient solid-slate lasers of the 2-mu m spectr
al range. It shows that it is possible to develop laser systems with energy
and spectral-temporal characteristics of the radiation that solve the prob
lems of optical monitoring. (C) 1999 The Optical Society of America. [S1070
-9762(99)01108-2].