Lasing properties of chromium-aluminum-doped forsterite pumped with an alexandrite laser

The lasing properties of chromium-aluminum-doped forsterite were investigated using a tunable alexandrite laser as the pump source. Results of measurements of the lasing threshold, slope efficiency, spectral and temporal profiles of the laser pulse, and the time delay between the alexandrite pump pulse and the laser emission are presented for pump wavelengths of 770, 746, and 730 nm and different pump beam energies. Laser rate equations are developed to model the lasing center as a four-level system and applied to the case of 746-nm pumping.<
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