Six-watt diode-pumped Tm:GdVO₄ laser at 2.29 µm

A compact Tm:GdVO₄ laser pumped by a 794 nm laser diode generated 6.09 W at 2.29 µm (³H₄ → ³H₅ Tm³⁺ transition) with a high slope efficiency of 30.8% and linear laser polarization (π). The polarized spectroscopic properties of Tm³⁺ in GdVO₄ were also revised. The peak stimulated-emission cross section of Tm³⁺ is 2.97 × 10^-20 cm² at 2280 nm, corresponding to an emission bandwidth of 42 nm for π-polarized light.