Abstract
Alexandrite (Cr:BeAl2O4) is a tunable solid-state gain medium from 700-850nm that has excellent thermo-mechanical properties for pulsed and high power applications. It can be pumped with high power red diodes (~637nm), giving efficient and high power operation [1]. However, there are a range of effects in Alexandrite that pose challenges to optimising and understanding its performance across its tuning spectrum [2]. These include excited state absorption (ESA) at both the pump and laser wavelengths, along with ground state absorption (GSA) at the laser wavelength. In this work we present and explore the efficiency limits of Alexandrite lasers from a general perspective utilising experimental results and analytical modelling.
© 2017 IEEE
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