2  mJ room temperature Fe:CdTe laser tunable from 5.1 to 6.3  μm

We report a room temperature (RT) operation of a Fe:CdTe laser pumped by a Q-switched 2.94 μm Er:Y₃Al₂(AlO₄)₃ laser. The Fe:CdTe laser produced 2 mJ of output energy at λ=5.55  μm with slope efficiency of 16% with respect to absorbed pump energy. With the use of an intracavity prism, the spectral tuning was demonstrated in the 5.1-6.3 μm range, being the longest wavelength tuning achieved for Fe²⁺:II-VI lasers. The lifetime of the upper laser level was measured to be 530 ns at RT.