Dual-wavelength Q-switched Er: SrF2 laser with a black phosphorus absorber in the mid-infrared region

An efficient Er: SrF2 crystal, lightly Er-doped to a concentration of 4at.%, was successfully grown by the traditional Bridgman method and displayed excellent spectral properties. A diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched dual-wavelength laser, operating at 2.79 mu m wavelength, was demonstrated with this crystal by using black phosphorus as the saturable absorber (BP-SA). In the compact passively Q-switched Er: SrF2 laser, the maximum average output power of 180 mW was achieved at an absorbed pump power of 2.47 W, with a pulse duration of 702 ns and a repetition rate of 77.03 kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported application of BP-SA to dual-wavelength pulse laser operation in the mid-infrared region. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America