Spiking oscillations in diode-pumped NdP5O14and NdAl3(BO3)4lasers

Using quasi-CW sinusoidally modulated excitation from a 0.8-μm-wavelength laser diode, we have obtained driven spiking oscillations in miniature, high-Nd-concentration room-temperature lasers of NdP
5
O
14
, and NdAl
3
(BO
3
)
4
. With modulation indices of 0.25 or less, peak-power enhancements of 11 (at 35 kHz) and 7 (at 124 kHz), respectively, have been observed for these materials. Theoretical calculations of these and other characteristics of the driven oscillations are in good agreement with experiment.