Nd-doped PbWO4 crystals are grown by using the modified Bridgman method.The spectroscopic properties of the crystals are investigated.The changes of the absorption band at 350 nm are discussed for samples annealed at 740℃ and 1040℃.The radiative lifetime of the 4 F 3/2 level is calculated by using the Judd-Ofelt theory according to the absorption spectrum of 0.5 at.% Nd-doped PbWO 4 crystal.The spontaneous Raman scattering properties of the crystals are analysed.
A diode-pumped Kerr-lens self-mode-locked laser is achieved by using Yb:Lu2SiO5(Yb:LSO)crystal without additional components.Under the incident pump power of 14.44 W,a self-mode-locked output power of 2.98 W is obtained in the five-mirror cavity,corresponding to an optical-optical efficiency of 20.6%.Pulses as short as 8.2 ps are realized at 1059 nm,with the corresponding pulse energy and peak power of 28.9 nJ and 3.5 kW,respectively.A pair of SF10 prisms are inserted into the laser cavity to compensate for the group velocity dispersion.The pulse width is compressed to 2.2 ps with an average output power of 1.25 W.
