title: Direct comparison of Yb3+:CaF2 and heavily doped Yb3+:YLF as laser media at room temperature.
abstract: We report an extensive comparison of the laser performances of diode-pumped Yb(3+):YLF (30% at.) and Yb(3+):CaF(2) (5% at.) crystals, lasing at room-temperature and operating in two different operation mode, i.e. Continuous Wave (CW) and quasi-CW. An in-depth investigation of the crystals behavior by changing the pump power, clearly shows the crystal absorption depends on the lasing conditions. Therefore, we report an unambiguous definition of the slope efficiency calculated taken into account the real measured crystal absorption under laser action. Finally, we present a study of problems related to thermally induced losses which are expected influencing the laser performance.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Fisica Applicata Nello Carrara, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IFAC-CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10C, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pirri
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alderighi
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Toci
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vannini
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nikl
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013696:Temperature