Dependence of the neodymium random laser threshold on the diameter of the pumped spot

We experimentally studied the dependence of the threshold energy density E/sub th//S in Nd/sub 0.5/La/sub 0.5/Al/sub 3/(BO/sub 3/)/sub 4/ random laser on the diameter of the pumped spot d and found that at d/spl ges/130/spl mu/m, E/sub th//S is proportional to 1/d+const. This functional dependence is different from the one commonly expected in the case of diffusion, /spl prop/1/d/sup 2/+const. However, the obtained experimental dependence does not mean the failure of the diffusion model. Calculating the mean photon's residence time /spl tau//sub res//sup p/ (which photons, making their diffusion-like random walks, spend inside the gain volume) as the function of d and further assuming that E/sub th//S/spl prop/(/spl tau//sup p//sub res/)/sup -1/, we predicted the experimentally obtained functional dependence, /spl prop/1/d+const. The major difference between our model and that of and was in the boundary conditions.