Abstract
The polarized absorption and emission spectra of chromium-aluminum-doped forsterite grown in argon- and oxygen-containing atmospheres are presented, and the relation between the growth atmosphere and the oxidation state of chromium in forsterite and aluminum-codoped forsterite, as revealed by optical spectroscopy, is discussed. Based on a simple model of the local point symmetry and polarization selection rules derived by group-theoretical considerations, it is concluded that the active center in the chromium-doped forsterite laser is the oxoanion (CrO4)4−. The laser-heated pedestal growth of chromium-doped forsterite crystals codoped with aluminum resulted in a considerable increase in the concentration of the activator that was incorporated by the forsterite host. The pulsed laser performance of a chromium-aluminum-doped forsterite crystal is presented. Using a Q-switched 1064 nm Nd-YAG laser as the pump, and a 1.4 cm long crystal with AR coated ends in the laser cavity, the measured optical conversion efficiency with a 6% transmissive output coupler was about 10%. The round-trip losses determined using this configuration were approximately 3.8%.
© 1989 Optical Society of America
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