title: Continuous-wave diode-pumped laser action of Nd³⁺-doped photo-thermo-refractive glass.
abstract: Laser action of the photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass, which is the photosensitive material for holographic recording of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs), was demonstrated for the first time by introducing Nd³⁺. Nd:PTR glass has a bandwidth of 27.8 nm and 16.0 nm for luminescence and absorption, respectively. An uncoated 2 mm thick Nd:PTR element generated cw laser output of 124 mW, with a slope efficiency of 25%, by laser diode pumping. This Nd:PTR glass also performed wide bandwidth laser action at 1053.9-1063.3 nm, where the decrease of the pump-absorption efficiency was held off below 30%, even under a 3.5 nm shift of pump wavelength from its absorption center.
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Center for Molecular Science, Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. yoichi@ims.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Takunori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taira
authors.forename: Vadim
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Smirnov
authors.forename: Larissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Glebova
authors.forename: Leonid
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Glebov