Diode-Pumped Emission of Tm(3)(+)-Doped Ca(2)Al(2)SiO(7) Crystals

A diode-pumped Tm:Ca(2)Al(2)SiO(7) (Tm:CAS) laser has been demonstrated for the first time to the authors' knowledge. A 39-mW output power and an 8.6% slope efficiency were obtained at -11 degrees C. The most attractive features of Tm:CAS are a broad absorption band near 785 nm and a large ground-state splitting. The improvement in laser performance expected from the large Stark splitting is shown to be limited by the enhancement of multiphonon relaxation processes and by the low thermal conductivity of the crystal.