Cerium-doped fluoride lasers

Author

Coutts, David W. ; McGonigle, Andrew J S

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Macquarie Univ., Sydney, NSW, Australia

Volume

40

Issue

10

fYear

2004

Firstpage

1430

Lastpage

1440

Abstract

In the 30 years since tunable ultraviolet (UV) lasers based on 5d → 4f transition of trivalent lanthanides doped into solid-state hosts were first demonstrated, tremendous progress has been made in these unique laser systems. Today, cerium-doped fluoride lasers offer wide tunability (280-333 nm), high efficiency (up to 62%) and narrow-band output. These lasers can also be used for femtosecond pulse amplification in the UV. Cerium lasers represent a logical route to generation of tunable UV in all-solid-state systems. In this paper, we review the current state-of-the-art cerium laser crystal development and cerium laser systems.

Keywords

cerium; high-speed optical techniques; laser transitions; laser tuning; optical materials; solid lasers; ultraviolet sources; ultraviolet spectroscopy; 280 to 333 nm; 5d → 4f transition; LiCaAlF₆:Ce; LiLuF₄:Ce; all-solid-state systems; cerium laser crystal development; cerium laser systems; cerium-doped fluoride lasers; femtosecond pulse amplification; laser tuning; pulsed lasers; solid lasers; ultraviolet generation; ultraviolet spectroscopy; Cerium; Crystals; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Laser tuning; Optical materials; Optical pulse generation; Pump lasers; Solid lasers; Tunable circuits and devices; Laser tuning; UV; generation; lasers; pulsed lasers; solid lasers; spectroscopy; ultraviolet;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JQE.2004.834775

Filename

1337024