Resonantly pumped Pr3+-doped eye-safe laser at approximately 1.65 microm

The first (to our knowledge) resonantly pumped laser action based on the 3F3-->3H4 transition of a Pr3+ ion is demonstrated. Pr3+-doped RbPb2Cl5 laser in-line pumped at approximately 1547 nm exhibited slope efficiency of over 21% at 1676.5 nm, despite the marginal quality of the laser sample available for this proof-of-concept experiment. This is believed to be the first non-Er3+ resonantly pumped approximately 1.6 microm eye-safe laser ever reported.