Wavelength tuning in a diode-pumped Pr3+:Ba(Y0.8Lu0.2)2F8 laser

Summary form only given. Research on praseodymium-doped solid-state lasers is seeing a renovated interest in the last years. Among the best crystal hosts for these lasers, BaY
₂
F
₈
(BYF) shows some peculiarities, such as its monoclinic structure and its wide Stark splitting, which allow enhanced power scalability and broad tunability. However, BYF is considered troublesome to grow, and sometimes can crack during handling. To prevent these issues, Ba(Y
_1-x
Lu
_x
)
₂
F
₈
(BYLF) has been proposed as a new host material [1]. BYLF is isomorphic to BYF, keeping all the advantages of its structure. Thanks to the addition of lutetium, BYLF should have better thermo-mechanical properties and overall it has shown laser performances than BYF [2]. In this work, we report on the first spectral tuning of a continuous-wave laser based on monocrystalline Ba(Y
_0.8
Lu
_0.2
)
₂
F
₈
(x = 0.2), doped with 1.25 at.% of praseodymium (Pr:BYLF). This crystal was grown, oriented, and polished in our laboratories. Further details on the growth and spectroscopic properties can be found in [2].