title: Broadly tunable compact continuous-wave Cr(2+):ZnS laser.
abstract: We report the development of a continuous-wave, room-temperature Cr(2+) ZnS laser that is compact and tunable over 700 nm. The laser is pumped by a diode-pumped Er-fiber laser and generates 0.7 W of linearly polarized radiation at 2.35microm , at up to 40% slope efficiency. Cr(2+) ZnS directly diode-pumped at 1.6microm yields polarized radiation that is tunable over 400 nm at up to 25 mW of output power. A comparison of Cr(2+) ZnS with Cr ZnSe (70 mW, 350 nm) in a similar setup is given. As opposed to Cr ZnSe, the Cr ZnS laser is intrinsically polarized. Finally, we observe sensitization of the output radiation by a few milliwatts of the visible (470-500-nm) and near-infrared (740-770-nm) radiation.
authors.forename: Irina T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Sorokina
authors.forename: Evgeni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sorokin
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mirov
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fedorov
authors.forename: Valery
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Badikov
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Panyutin
authors.forename: Kathleen I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Schaffers