Out of the blue: semiconductor laser pumped visible rare‐earth doped lasers. Issue 4 (24th April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kränkel, Christian; Marzahl, Daniel‐Timo; Moglia, Francesca; Huber, Günter; Metz, Philip Werner
• Is Part Of: Laser & photonics reviews. Volume 10:Issue 4(2016:Jul.)
• Page Start: 548
• Page End: 568
• Publication Date: 2016-04-24
• Subjects: visible lasers -- rare‐earth ions -- solid‐state lasers; Lasers -- Periodicals; Photonics -- Periodicals; Lasers -- Périodiques; Photonique -- Périodiques; 621.36
• DOI: 10.1002/lpor.201500290
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1863-8880

Abstract

Abstract : The current state of visible rare‐earth doped crystalline lasers under pumping with novel blue semiconductor‐based pump sources is reviewed. Spectroscopy and laser results of Pr 3+ ‐, Sm 3+ ‐, Tb 3+ ‐, Dy 3+ ‐, Ho 3+ ‐, and Er 3+ ‐doped laser materials are presented. Abstract: The rise of semiconductor‐based pump sources such as Inx Ga1‐x N‐laser diodes or frequency‐doubled optically pumped semiconductor lasers with emission wavelengths in the blue encourages a revisitation of the rare‐earth ions Pr 3+, Sm 3+, Tb 3+, Dy 3+, Ho 3+ and Er 3+ with respect to their properties as active ions in crystalline solid‐state laser materials with direct emission in the visible spectral range. Nowadays, some of these blue‐pumped visible lasers compete with Nd 3+ ‐lasers in terms of efficiency and direct lasing at various colors from the cyan‐blue to the deep red can be addressed in very simple and compact laser setups. This paper highlights the spectroscopic properties of suitable rare‐earth ions for visible lasing and reviews the latest progress in the field of blue‐pumped visible rare‐earth doped solid‐state lasers.