Green Er(3+):YLiF(4) upconversion laser at 551nm with Yb(3+) codoping: a novel pumping scheme

We report room-temperature continuous-wave upconversion laser emission on the green transition (4)S(3/2)?(4)I(15/2) in Er(1%), Yb(3%):YLiF(4) at 551nm. Green laser operation was obtained for titanium-sapphire pump wavelengths continuously tunable between 955 and 974.5nm. Codoping with Yb(3+) resulted in a more efficient excitation of the upper laser level by upconversion processes. The maximum green laser output power was 37mW at an incident titanium-sapphire pump power level of 1580mW at 966nm.