Spectroscopy and LD end-pumped high power 2.79 μm CW laser from an Er:LuYSGG mixed crystal

We report on the spectroscopic and laser performance of a novel 30 at.% Er:LuYSGG mixed crystal grown by Czochralski method. The XRC result shows the crystal has a high crystalline quality. A strong absorption peak is located at 966 nm with a FWMH of about 11 nm. The lifetimes of the upper 4I11/2 and lower 4I13/2 levels are 1.91 ms and 6.53 ms, respectively. A maximum output power of 909 mW with LD end-pumping is achieved, corresponding to optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 18.1% and slope efficiency of 21.6%. The laser wavelength of 2794 nm and beam quality factors Mx2/My2 of 1.78/1.83 are displayed. These results indicate that Er:LuYSGG mixed crystal is a promising gain medium for 2.8 μm laser.