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By simultaneously using a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and a monolayer graphene saturable absorber (SA) in the cavity, a laser-diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated passively Q-switched Tm:LuAG laser at 2 μm is demonstrated for the first time. In comparison with the singly passively Q-switched laser with MWCNT or monolayer graphene SA, the doubly passively Q-switched laser with both MWCNT and monolayer graphene SA can generate shorter pulse width and higher peak power. A maximum pulse width compression ratio of 2.8 and a highest peak power enhancement factor of 4 were obtained at the incident pump power of 5.8 W, respectively. The experimental results show that the dual-loss modulation is an efficient method to compress the pulse widths and improve the peak powers of the Q-switched lasers at 2 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a diode-pumped continuous-wave tunable and Q-switched Tm:SSO laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. In continuous-wave regime, a maximum output power of 340 mW at 1,980.7 nm was obtained. With a quartz plate, wavelength-tunable continuous-wave operation was achieved from 1,922 to 2,020 nm. In Q-switched regime, a maximum output pulse energy of 14.7 μJ under a repetition rate of 800 Hz and a minimum pulse width of 7.6 μs corresponding to a repetition rate of 8.8 kHz around 1,974.4 nm were obtained from the passively Q-switched Tm:SSO laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yb3+-doped crystals were grown by the Czochralski method from (Gd0.5Y0.5)2SiO5 melt employing seeds cut out from single crystals of Yb:Gd2SiO5 and Yb:Y2SiO5. XRD analysis revealed that the structure of the solid solution crystals grown is consistent with the structure of the seed, namely C2/c for the Yb:Y2SiO5 seed and P21/c for the Yb:Gd2SiO5 seed. Optical absorption spectra, emission spectra and luminescence decay curves were recorded at 10 K and 300 K. Analysis of gathered spectroscopic data made it possible to evaluate radiative transition rates for the 2F5/2 multiplet of Yb3+ in the two structures and to assess crystal field splitting of multiplets involved in radiative transitions. It has been concluded that transition intensities and relaxation dynamics of Yb3+ in the systems studied are similar but the intensity distribution of emission and absorption bands depends significantly on the system structure. This feature, combined with inhomogeneous broadening of spectral lines, may be advantageous for the tailoring of lasers employing ytterbium-doped crystals for specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absorption, photoluminescence and cw-lasing properties of a novel Na+-codoped Yb3+:CaF2 laser crystal are investigated in the temperature range from 10 K to 290 K. Cryogenic cooling leads to the disappearance of the ground-state absorption in the spectral region above 1000 nm and a substantial increase of emission and absorption cross-sections. A particular advantage of the Yb3+, Na+-codoped CaF2 crystal lies in the possibility of a direct pumping in the vicinity of the zero phonon line while nearly perfectly avoiding an overlap with the stimulated emission. Further advantages of the low-temperature operation are demonstrated by achieving a close to the theoretical limit slope efficiency of 92% in a cw-laser operation with an output coupler of 28%. By seeding stretched pulses from a femtosecond Yb fiber oscillator into a cryogenically cooled DPSS Yb3+, Na+:CaF2 regenerative amplifier, we obtain >3-mJ pulses at a 1-kHz repetition rate with a spectral bandwidth exceeding 12 nm. The pulses are compressed with a single grating compressor to 173 fs as verified by SHG FROG. Shaping of the spectral amplitude of the seed and active control of the higher-order phase is shown to be crucial for obtaining sub-200-fs pulses at multi-mJ energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bulk crystal of Yb:Sc2SiO5 (Yb:SSO) with favorable thermal properties was successfully obtained by the Czochralski method. The energy level diagrams for Yb:SSO crystal were determined by optical spectroscopic analysis and semi-empirical crystal-field calculations using the simple overlap model. The full width at half maximum of the absorption band centering at 976 nm was calculated to be 24 nm with a peak absorption cross-section of 9.2×10-21 cm2. The largest ground-state splitting of Yb3+ ions is up to 1027 cm-1 in a SSO crystal host. Efficient diode-pumped laser performance of Yb:SSO was primarily demonstrated with a slope efficiency of 45% and output power of 3.55 W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absorption, photoluminescence and cw-lasing properties of a novel Na+-codoped Yb3+:CaF2 laser crystal are investigated in the temperature range from 10 K to 290 K. Cryogenic cooling leads to the disappearance of the ground-state absorption in the spectral region above 1000 nm and a substantial increase of emission and absorption cross-sections. A particular advantage of the Yb3+, Na+-codoped CaF2 crystal lies in the possibility of a direct pumping in the vicinity of the zero phonon line while nearly perfectly avoiding an overlap with the stimulated emission. Further advantages of the low-temperature operation are demonstrated by achieving a close to the theoretical limit slope efficiency of 92% in a cw-laser operation with an output coupler of 28%. By seeding stretched pulses from a femtosecond Yb fiber oscillator into a cryogenically cooled DPSS Yb3+, Na+:CaF2 regenerative amplifier, we obtain >3-mJ pulses at a 1-kHz repetition rate with a spectral bandwidth exceeding 12 nm. The pulses are compressed with a single grating compressor to 173 fs as verified by SHG FROG. Shaping of the spectral amplitude of the seed and active control of the higher-order phase is shown to be crucial for obtaining sub-200-fs pulses at multi-mJ energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bulk crystal of Yb:Sc2SiO5 (Yb:SSO) with favorable thermal properties was successfully obtained by the Czochralski method. The energy level diagrams for Yb:SSO crystal were determined by optical spectroscopic analysis and semi-empirical crystal-field calculations using the simple overlap model. The full width at half maximum of the absorption band centering at 976 nm was calculated to be 24 nm with a peak absorption cross-section of 9.2×10-21 cm2. The largest ground-state splitting of Yb3+ ions is up to 1027 cm-1 in a SSO crystal host. Efficient diode-pumped laser performance of Yb:SSO was primarily demonstrated with a slope efficiency of 45% and output power of 3.55 W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]