Experimental evaluation of the cw lasing threshold for a Ce:LiCaAlF6 laser

We present an experimental technique that allows the direct measurement of the continuous wave (cw) lasing threshold and the slope efficiency of a Ce:LiCaAlF6 (Ce:LiCAF) laser source by means of time-resolved measurement in the pulsed regime. We used a long-pulse-duration source to pump a tunable laser and a high-efficiency nondispersive laser in a quasi-stationary lasing regime. We compare the experimental results with earlier theoretical evaluations, and we demonstrate the feasibility of a cw Ce:LiCAF laser. Under the conditions discussed here, our technique can be applied to all the active media that achieved pulsed laser emission to investigate their potential as cw laser active media. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.