Abstract
The high-resolution spectroscopic and emission-decay investigation of highly concentrated (up to 9 at. %) Nd:YAG ceramics indicates that the state of the ion in these materials is similar to that of diluted crystals. The increased relative intensities of the spectral satellites connected with ensembles of Nd ions in near-lattice sites at high Nd concentrations is consistent with the predictions of the statistics of the random placement of these ions at the available lattice sites. The room-temperature transmission spectra show that the resonant pump in the emitting level including the hot-band pump and can be efficient at high with important effects in the reduction of the pump quantum defect and of the corresponding heat generation under the pump. The accelerated emission decay at high is consistent with the increased efficiency of the energy transfer, including the contribution of migration-assisted transfer processes. The calculated emission quantum efficiency η and the figure of merit indicate that the concentrated Nd:YAG components can be used for construction of efficient solid-state lasers in free-generation or low-storage regimes, and, coupled with the hot-band resonant pump in the emitting level, they could enable the scaling of Nd:YAG lasers to high powers.
© 2002 Optical Society of America
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