Diode-pumped Nd:LuAG ceramic laser on 4F3/2-4I13/2transition

Laser operation of Nd:LuAG ceramic on the 4F3/2-4I13/2 transition has been demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Different output couplers are used to optimize the laser performance and the highest slope efficiency of 18.0% as well as maximum output power of 3.05 W under the pump power of 21 W was obtained. The spectral characteristics of Nd:LuAG ceramic laser is carefully studied and compared with Nd:YAG ceramic laser's. In our experiment, it has been observed that the 1338 nm wavelength is always the initial and strongest oscillating spectral line when Nd:LuAG ceramic laser operates on the 4F3/2-4I13/2 transition, even though the pump level or intra-cavity loss changes greatly, which is quite different from the case of Nd:YAG ceramic laser.