Laser pulse lengthening with the aid of nonlinearly absorbing semiconductors CdP2 and ZnP2

The pulses emitted by ruby and aeodymium lasers were made longer by introducing CdP₂ and ZnP₂ plates into the resonator. In contrast to the usually employed CdS, GaAs, and CdSe crystals, the phosphide plates did not reduce the stability of the lengthened pulses. The duration of the pulses obtained in this way was practically independent of the pumping energy and the thickness of the semiconductor plate.