Comparative laser and spectroscopic properties of (1-x)CaF2-(x)SrF2 solid solutions doped with Yb3+ ions

The lasing properties of Yb
³⁺
based lasers strongly depend on crystal field, symmetry and strength and can be varied by modification of host material properties. Yb-doped CaF
₂
-SrF
₂
crystal is a relatively new laser material. The advantage of the CaF
₂
:Yb
³⁺
crystal is broad (~30 nm) fluorescence spectrum, allowing to obtain tuning of the oscillating wavelength within 1.035-1.050 mum spectral range, rather low pump saturation intensity of 14 kW/cm
²
and long Yb
³⁺
lifetime of 2.4 ms. These features are important for development of broadly tunable LD pumped laser sources as well as for the femtosecond pulses generation and amplification.