Continuous-wave laser operation of diode-pumped Tm-doped Gd3Ga5O12 crystal

We report on a diode-pumped Tm:Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) laser at 2004 nm operated in continuous-wave mode with two-mirror linear cavity configuration. The maximum output power reaches 0.58 W with laser threshold absorbed pump power of about 0.39 W and overall slope efficiency of about 18.4%, which is believed to be the highest output power for Tm:GGG laser up to now. The Tm:GGG laser shows obvious thermally induced saturation of the output power, which indicated that power and efficiency scaling could be furtherly realized by more efficient thermal removal of the laser crystal.