Widely tunable end-pumped all-solid-state Cr:LiSAF laser

This paper reports an end-pumped all-solid-state continuous wave (CW) Cr:LiSAF laser with a tunability of 130 nm. The design of the V-shaped cavity is carefully studied and optimized to improve the efficiency. The slope efficiency of 39.2% and the threshold of 32.8 mW are demonstrated in free running. Tuning range of 783-913 nm and maximum output power of 115 mW are realized when the BF(birefringent filter) is used as the tuning element. However, using the prism for tuning, the tunability decreases to 802-887 nm and the maximum power decreases to 6.5 mW. The BF is more suitable for the tuning of the Cr:LiSAF laser compared to the prism. The results indicate that Cr:LiSAF lasers could be widely tunable, high-efficient and compact laser sources in 800 nm region.