High power diode-pumped 2.7-μm Er3+:Y2O3 laser with nearly quantum defect-limited efficiency

We report diode-pumped Er3+:Y2O3 ceramic laser with ~14 W of true CW output at ~2.7 μm. This presents nearly ten-fold power increase with respect to previous best result with this laser material. We also believe this to be the highest power ever reported from Er3+ -doped bulk crystalline laser operating in a ~3-μm wavelength range. Power-scaled performance of 974-nm pumped Er3+:Y2O3 laser was achieved with the slope efficiency of ~26%.