Neodymium pentaphosphate microlaser pumped by the second harmonic of a YAG:Nd3+ laser

Neodymium pentaphosphate single crystals having side lengths of 2–10 mm, thicknesses of 0.1–0.5 mm, and typical dimensions of the high optical quality zones of 0.2–2.0 mm were grown from solution in a melt. A concentric resonator was used to excite laser action in these crystals. The crystals were pumped by the second harmonic of a pulsed YAG:Nd³⁺ laser (λ=0.53μ). The threshold and other parameters of the stimulated emission observed were estimated.