New solid-state lasers based on rare-earth doped sesquioxide crystals

Summary form only given. The sesquioxide of yttrium is subject of interest to the fields of laser physics and spectroscopy since the early sixties. It exhibits a thermal conductivity that is higher than that of the well established laser host material Y/sub 3/Al/sub 5/O/sub 12/ (YAG). Similarly high thermal conductivities can also be found in the isostructural scandia (Sc/sub 2/O/sub 3/) and lutetia (Lu/sub 2/O/sub 3/). The thermal conductivities range between 12.5 W/mK in lutetia and 16.5 W/mK in scandia, measured at 50 C. Undoped YAG shows a thermal conductivity of 11 W/mK measured under the same conditions. This property makes the sesquioxides promising host materials for rare-earth based laser systems, especially for high power applications.