800-mW diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd-YAlO/sub 3/ laser around 1380 nm

Summary form only given. YAlO/sub 3/ is known to be among the best laser host crystals to date. Several transitions of Nd:YAlO/sub 3/ are already well-known, particularly around 1.08 /spl mu/m, 1.34 /spl mu/m and 1.43 /spl mu/m. We investigate here for the first time two lines on the /sup 4/F/sub 3/2/-/sup 4/I/sub 13/2/ transition of neodymium at 1378 nm and 1385 nm. The emission cross section for these lines (/spl sim/10/sup -20/ cm/sup 2/) is approximately 40 (resp. 20) times smaller than for the 1.08-/spl mu/m (resp. 1.34-/spl mu/m) line. Consequently, efficient diode-pumped laser at 1378 nm and 1385 nm presents a challenge as it requires a laser cavity in which laser oscillations on the above-mentioned higher gain lines have to be suppressed.