Lasing of a single crystal Nd3+ fluoride fiber

We present laser action in a single crystal fluoride fiber obtained by the micro-pulling-down technique. The 700 μm diameter and 1 cm long Nd:LiYF4 fiber was pumped by a beam shaped diode bar emitting at 806 nm. A peak power of 300 mW was achieved with a slope efficiency of 12%. When considering the pump power fraction absorbed by the laser mode, a slope efficiency of 37% was achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a Nd: LiYF4 fiber laser.