Energy parameters of lasers utilizing erbium glasses sensitized with ytterbium and chromium

An experimental investigation was made of the effect of sensitizing ytterbium- and erbium-activated lead barium phosphate glasses with Cr/sup 3 +/ ions on the energy parameters of lasing due to the /sup 4/I/sub 13//sub ///sub 2/--/sup 4/I/sub 15//sub ///sub 2/ transition in Er/sup 3 +/ ions (lambda/sub l/ = 1.54 ..mu..). It was found that substantial sensitization was achieved in phosphate glasses for only low concentrations of Cr/sup 3 +/ ions (< or approx. =0.07 wt.%) so that the efficiency of flashlamp-pumped erbium lasers could be improved by a factor of 1.5--4. The optimal conditions for achieving the best energy parameters of these lasers under free-lasing conditions were determined allowing for the spectral and energy distributions of the flashlamp radiation in the absorption range of the coactivator ions. By implementing these conditions using active elements 6 mm in diameter and 85 mm long, containing 17 wt.% Yb/sub 2/O/sub 3/, 0.25 wt.% Er/sub 2/O/sub 3/, and 0.07 wt.% Cr/sub 2/O/sub 3/, it was possible to achieve an efficiency of 1.2% for an electrical pump energy of 1 kJ. This was the highest efficiency achieved so far for erbium lasers. Measurements were made of the efficiency of transfer of the excitation energy from Cr/sup 3 +/ ions to Yb/sup 3 +/ ions at high levels of excitation of the medium.