Hg/sub 1-x/Cd/sub x/Ga/sub 2/S/sub 4/ crystals as new materials for mid-infrared parametric oscillators pumped by Nd:YAG lasers

High-quality Hg/sub 1-x/Cd/sub x/Ga/sub 2/S/sub 4/ crystals were grown. Their main optical and thermophysical properties were investigated. Efficient Nd:YAG pumped optical parametric oscillators were demonstrated using these crystals which appear promising for powerful tunable generation in the mid-infrared.