High power broadband LiF:F(2)(-) color center laser

A high power LiF:F(2)(-) color center laser is demonstrated with broadband emission. The excitation source is a quasi-continuous wave diode side-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. Under an incident 1064-nm laser power of 25.4 W, the highest output power of up to 4.7 W is obtained with a macro pulse repetition rate of 400 Hz and a micro pulse repetition rate of 50 kHz. The broadband emission is centered at 1142 nm with a bandwidth of 13 nm.