Transient Frequency Dynamics in Single-Longitudinal-Mode Diamond Raman Lasers

In recent years diamond Raman lasers have become of interest for high power, single longitudinal mode (SLM) lasing. These systems benefit from the wavelength agility provided by the Raman mechanism, the lack of spatial hole burning in Raman gain medium and the high power handling ability of diamond. While single-frequency operation has been reported at infrared and visible wavelengths [1] , [2] , the detailed characteristics of the output frequency spectrum has not been formally addressed. Here we study the factors influencing the stability of the centre wavelength in diamond Raman lasers, and investigate the potential for "fast" thermo-optic actuation enabled by diamond’s supreme thermal conductivity. Such devices have the potential to supplant piezoelectric actuators which are inherently speed-limited by mechanical resonances.