Feasibility of a solar-radiation-pumped color-center crystal laser

An analysis is made of the possibility of constructing a cw laser pumped by solar radiation. It is assumed that the active medium of this laser is a crystal containing color centers and made into a waveguide. An analysis of the proposed laser shows that if a concentrator is used to increase the solar radiation intensity by a factor of ξ = 10², the gain for the active transition should be ~10^–3 cm^–1, the efficiency should be ~1–6%, and the output power should be ~10–60 W from 1 m of the active medium of the laser.