Exploring the potential of Pr3+:LiY0.3Lu0.7F4 mixed crystal for diode-pumped watt-level continuous-wave lasers in the visible region

By partially substituting the Y3+ ions with Lu3+ ions, the widely investigated Pr:LiYF4 single crystal has been formated into Pr:LiY0.3Lu0.7F4 mixed crystal. In this work, we report the recent progress on diode-pumped continuous-wave Pr:LiY0.3Lu0.7F4 lasers in visible spectral region. Using a diode double-end pumping geometry, we have achieved red (-640 nm), orange (~607 nm), green (~523 nm) and deep red (~721 nm) lasers with maximum output powers and slope efficiencies of (3.28 W, 35.9%), (1.79 W, 19.8%), (1.61 W, 18.0%) and (1.56 W, 20.8%), respectively. The orange and deep red lasers are first demonstrated in the Pr:LiY0.3Lu0.7F4 mixed crystal, to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, the results represent the best laser performance for Pr3+ mixed crystal lasers. Researches on Pr3+ mixed crystals and their corresponding lasers are still on their initial stages, which could provide some new opportunities for the generation of high-power continuous-wave visible lasers and more importantly for the generation of femtosecond ultrashort pulsed visible lasers that is indeed very on demand.

Automated summary

This work reports the recent progress of diode-pumped continuous-wave Pr:LiY0.3Lu0.7F4 lasers in the visible spectral region. By partially substituting Y3+ ions, orange and deep red lasers have been achieved in the Pr:LiY0.3Lu0.7F4 mixed crystal, which represents the best laser performance for Pr3+ mixed crystals.