• Chromium lases at 2515 nm in new crystal host at room temperature

    Doping a cadmium manganese telluride (Cd0.85Mn0.15Te) host with chromium enabled Uwe H?mmerich and others at Hampton University (Hampton, VA) in collaboration with Brimrose Corp. of America (Baltimore, MD) to demonstrate room-temperature pulsed laser operation of a new solid-state laser material that emits at 2515 nm. The material is easier to grow than the alternative chromium hosts?zinc selenide or zinc sulfide?and crystals as large as 3 cm in diameter can be produced. Brimrose engineers grew
    Oct. 1, 1997

    Chromium lases at 2515 nm in new crystal host at room temperature

    Doping a cadmium manganese telluride (Cd0.85Mn0.15Te) host with chromium enabled Uwe H?mmerich and others at Hampton University (Hampton, VA) in collaboration with Brimrose Corp. of America (Baltimore, MD) to demonstrate room-temperature pulsed laser operation of a new solid-state laser material that emits at 2515 nm. The material is easier to grow than the alternative chromium hosts?zinc selenide or zinc sulfide?and crystals as large as 3 cm in diameter can be produced. Brimrose engineers grew chromium-doped CdMnTe using the

    vertical Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. Estimated Cr2+ concentration in the resultant

    crystal was less than 2 1019 atoms/cm3.

    The Hampton grou¥placed an uncoated 3.7-mm-thick, 21-mm-diameter sample in a

    6-cm-long end-pumped cavity and excited it with the output from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser Raman-shifted by a hydrogen cell to 1907 nm. Output of the Cr2+:CdMnTe system was

    centered at 2515 nm (50 nm FWHM), with a slope efficiency of 5.5% above the threshold of 3.4 mJ. The results are preliminary?by altering the manganese content in the host, the researchers hope to optimize the laser performance of the material.

    Sign up for Laser Focus World Newsletters
    Get the latest news and updates.

    Voice Your Opinion!

    To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!