Laser properties of selectively excited YAlO(3):Er

We report on the influence of selective excitation on the laser emission of YAlO(3):Er at 2.73, 2.79, and 2.92 microm. Selective excitation is done by filtering the pump light of a Xe flash lamp. This leads to a reduction of the thermal load on the crystal and laser threshold, allowing repetition rates up to 125 Hz.