Abstract

The 1-µm laser transition in Nd-doped crystals and glasses can be described as a four-level systehe extracting pulse length τ_p is much longer than the terminal or lower-level lifetime τ_11/2 However, if the relative length of the extracting pulse becomes comparable to or less than the value of the lower-level lifetime, then most of the Nd ions will remain in the ⁴I_11/2 level after the passage of the extracting pulse. In this case, the Nd laser will approach a three-level system with a reduced extraction efficiency. Therefore, the lower-level lifetime can become an important parameter in the design of a solid-state laser system when τ_p<τ_11/2.

© 1995 Optical Society of America