First laser performance of Er3+-doped scandia (Sc2O3) ceramic

Remote monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) is becoming increasingly important for homeland security needs as well as for studying the CO2 distribution in the atmosphere as it pertains to global warming problems. So, efficient solid-state lasers emitting in the 1.55 - 1.65 μm spectral range, where CO2 absorption lines are, (i), plentiful and, (ii), carry significant relevant information, are in great demand. Reported here is the first laser performance of resonantly pumped Er3+-doped scandia (Sc2O3) ceramic. The laser was operated in the cryogenically-cooled regime with the quantum defect (QD) of only 4.5%, which, along with superior thermal conductivity of scandia, offers significant eye-safe power scaling potential with nearly diffraction limited beam quality. Slope efficiency of 77% and Q-CW output power of 2.35 W were obtained at 1605.5 nm which has significant utility for counter-IED applications.