Dynamics of a flashlamp pumped 2.70 μm emission Cr:Er:YSGG laser with an infrared-quartz FTIR shutter

A flashlamp pumped 2.70 mu m Cr:Er:yttrium scandium gallium garnet (YSGG) laser in a simple Fabry-Perot-type resonator has been developed, The emission wavelength of 2.70 mu m at the laser is easily selected by a specially designed resonator with a dichroic coated mirror. Maximum output energy of 88 mJ with a slope efficiency of 0.167%. has been achieved in the free-running regime. In the Q-switching regime using an IR-quartz shutter, a Q-switched pulse of 80 ns, single-pulse energy of 30 mJ, and a slope efficiency of 0.064%, have been achieved in TEM00 mode. Good agreement between a proposed theoretical model and the experimental results is obtained. The optimal output on the 2.70 Am emission Cr:Er:YSGG lasers is estimated by a theoretical simulation. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America