Er3+ doped GYSGG crystal as a new laser material resistant to ionizing radiation

We demonstrate a 968 nm diode end-pumped Er:GYSGG (Gd1.17Y1.83Sc2Ga3O12) laser at 2.796 pm operated in the pulse and continuous-wave (CW) modes. A maximum laser energy of 2.43 mJ is obtained at a pulse width of 2 ms, corresponding to a peak power of 1.25 W and a slope efficiency of 7.2%. In the CW mode, the maximum output power is 348 mW, corresponding to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 9.2% and a slope efficiency of 10.1%. The M-2 factor is 1.94, and the beam divergence is 6.4 mrad. Gamma irradiation at 100 Mrad only slightly affects laser output performance. This result suggests that Er:GYSGG crystal is a potentially new mid-infrared radiation-resistant laser material that can be applied in space and ionizing radiation environment. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.