Thermooptical and thermophysical characteristics of forsterite crystals

An experimental investigation was made of the thermooptical and thermophysical characteristics of Mg₂SiO₄:Cr laser crystals. The thermal refraction coefficient was small (∂n/∂Т = 2.8 X 10 ^– 6 K ^– 1) and the quantum efficiency of the luminescence was fairly high (η₁ = 0.7). The familiar laser calorimetric method was modified to determine the various contributions to the efficiency of optical heating η of the investigated crystals.