SPECTROSCOPIC PROPERTIES AND EFFICIENT DIODE-PUMPED LASER OPERATION OF NEODYMIUM-DOPED LANTHANUM SCANDIUM BORATE

We report on the spectroscopic properties and laser performance of Czochralski-grown LaSc3(BO3)4 (LSB) crystals with high neodymium concentrations up to 2.5 . 10(21) cm-3. The low-concentration quenching of the upper laser level of neodymium and the polarization dependence of the spectra indicate that LaSC3(BO3)4 crystalizes in a huntite-type structure like Nd 3+:YA13(BO3)4 (NYAB). With diode laser pumping at 808 nm, a multimode Nd3+:LaSc3(BO3)4 (NLSB) laser at 1063 nm is demonstrated. Optical slope efficiency was 64% with respect to absorbed pump power. The possibility of second-harmonic generation in the laser crystal is discussed.