A recent paper of our colleague, Samuel Paul David, investigates the laser potential of monoclinic Ytterbium-Lithium codoped Zinc monotungstate crystal (Yb3+,Li+:ZnWO4), a new laser crystal for laser operation at ~1.06 μm. A combination of high thermal conductivity, weak anisotropy of thermal expansion, broad absorption and emission bands make it a promising material for tunable and mode-locked lasers. Spectroscopic investigation reveals this crystal shows largest absorption and emission bandwidths among other Yb3+ doped tungstate crystals. The paper also reports an efficient laser operation centered at 1.06 mm with a maximum slope efficiency of 57.9 % and an output power of 2.9 W.
If you want to learn more, just read the whole article “Monoclinic zinc monotungstate Yb3+,Li+:ZnWO4: Part II. Polarized spectroscopy and laser operation” published in Journal of Luminescence (Vol.231, P. 117811).
Scheme of the diode-pumped 1.8 at.% Yb3+,Li+:ZnWO4 laser: LD – laser diode, PM – pump mirror, OC – output coupler, RoC – radius of curvature.
