808-nm diode-pumped continuous-wave Tm:GdVO4 laser at room temperature

A high-quality gadolinium vanadate (GdVO4) crystal with 7-at. % thulium as the starting material was grown by the Czochralski technique. The measured absorption spectra exhibited sufficient absorption coefficients for laser diodes (LDs) for neodymium laser pumping: 6.0 cm(-1) for pi polarization and 6.2 cm(-1) for sigma polarization at 808 nm. Laser oscillation was carried out with single-stripe 808-nm LDs in an end-pumping configuration. A slope efficiency of 28% and a threshold of 750 mW were exhibited with respect to the absorbed pump power. An output power of 420 mW was achieved at an absorbed power of 2.4 W. It was demonstrated that Tm:GdVO4 is a useful material for 2-microm lasers, particularly in a compact LD-pumped system.