Mid-infrared laser performance of Ce³⁺-doped selenide glass

An extensive study of a novel room-temperature mid-infrared Ce³⁺-doped Ge₂₀Sb₁₀Ga₅Se₆₅ glass laser is reported. An influence of output-coupler transmission on laser efficiency and emission spectra is investigated. Pumped by a pulsed Fe:ZnSe laser at 4.1 µm, a maximum output energy of 35 mJ is demonstrated at 5.2 µm, with a laser threshold of about 60 mJ and a slope efficiency of 21%. The tuning range of a mid-infrared Ce:glass laser is reported for the first time: with an intracavity prism, the laser is continuously tunable in the spectral range of 4.5-5.6 µm. The internal losses are determined to be below 9% per roundtrip.