Stable, pulsed, color-center laser in pure KCl tunable from 1.23 to 1.35 microm

Stable, tunable, pulsed laser operation based on the N(2) color center in additively colored pure KCI is reported. The laser tunes smoothly from 1.23 to 1.35 microm when pumped by a 1.06-microm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at kilohertz repetition rates. 42-mW average output power at 1.28 microm was achieved for 1-W average incident pump power. No power fading has been observed over several weeks of day-to-day operation.