Spectral, luminescence, and lasing properties of gadolinium scandium gallium garnet crystals activated with neodymium and chromium ions

Abstract

An investigation was made of the spectral, luminescence, and lasing properties of gadolinium scandium gallium garnet (GSGG) crystals activated with neodymium and chromium ions in which the efficiency of transfer of excitation from chromium to neodymium ions is considerably higher than in YAG:Nd3+:Cr3+. It was found that the parameter characterizing the probability of an elementary Cr3+–Nd3+ interaction event for GSGG was twenty times higher than that for YAG and twice that for gadolinium gallium garnet. Investigations were made of the free lasing parameters of GSGG:Nd3+:Cr3+ and it was found that the maximum differential lasing efficiency was twice that of GSGG:Nd3+. It is concluded that efficient Cr3+→Nd3+ energy transfer can improve severalfold the energy characteristics of cw and pulsed neodymium lasers.