Diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd:YLF laser at 1313 nm

We present an efficiency Nd:LiYF(4) (Nd:YLF) laser operating at 1313 nm pumped directly into the emitting level (4) F (3/2). At the incident pump power of 10.3 W, as high as 3.1 W of continuous-wave output power at 1313 nm is achieved. The slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power was 36.1%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of such a laser system. Comparative results obtained for the pump with diode laser at 806 nm, into the highly absorbing (4) F (5/2) level, are given in order to prove the advantages of the 880 nm wavelength pumping.