Cr/sup 4+/ lasers: present performance and prospects for new host lattices

Cr-doped lasers, based on forsterite and YAG, provide broadly tunable power in the 1.25-/spl mu/m and 1.45-/spl mu/m regions. Performance data on tuning range, pumping, output power, and thermal management for these lasers is reviewed. Potential new crystals for Cr/sup 4+/ should have heavy atoms to reduce lattice phonon frequencies, a distorted tetrahedral cage for the Cr/sup 4+/ ion, and possibly an octahedral site for Cr/sup 3+/. Possible materials include monticellite and diopside. >