Title :
Cerium-doped fluoride lasers
Author :
Coutts, David W. ; McGonigle, Andrew J S
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys., Macquarie Univ., Sydney, NSW, Australia
Abstract :
In the 30 years since tunable ultraviolet (UV) lasers based on 5d → 4f transition of trivalent lanthanides doped into solid-state hosts were first demonstrated, tremendous progress has been made in these unique laser systems. Today, cerium-doped fluoride lasers offer wide tunability (280-333 nm), high efficiency (up to 62%) and narrow-band output. These lasers can also be used for femtosecond pulse amplification in the UV. Cerium lasers represent a logical route to generation of tunable UV in all-solid-state systems. In this paper, we review the current state-of-the-art cerium laser crystal development and cerium laser systems.
Keywords :
cerium; high-speed optical techniques; laser transitions; laser tuning; optical materials; solid lasers; ultraviolet sources; ultraviolet spectroscopy; 280 to 333 nm; 5d → 4f transition; LiCaAlF6:Ce; LiLuF4:Ce; all-solid-state systems; cerium laser crystal development; cerium laser systems; cerium-doped fluoride lasers; femtosecond pulse amplification; laser tuning; pulsed lasers; solid lasers; ultraviolet generation; ultraviolet spectroscopy; Cerium; Crystals; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Laser tuning; Optical materials; Optical pulse generation; Pump lasers; Solid lasers; Tunable circuits and devices; Laser tuning; UV; generation; lasers; pulsed lasers; solid lasers; spectroscopy; ultraviolet;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.2004.834775
