Erbium gadolinium gallium garnet crystal laser

A flashlamp-pumped GGG:Er crystal laser emitting simultaneously at two wavelengths, 2794 and 2822 nm, was developed. A laser output energy of 400 mJ was obtained at a pump pulse energy of 100 J under multimode free-running conditions. The average free-running power was 2.2 W at a pulse repetition frequency of 20 Hz for a pump pulse energy of 66 J. The use of GGG:Er crystals coactivated with Се³⁺ ions made it possible to extend the pump spectrum into the ultraviolet and to reduce the lasing threshold.