Solid state tunable laser sources are receiving increased attention recently because of the wide variety of applications that they could open up in both government and industry. The present day dye laser systems have serious shortcomings. This is another reason why the solid state vibronic lasers are of interest. These systems are marked by broad tuning ranges and some systems can be operated at room temperature. However, all systems to date have one or more serious drawbacks such as small stimulated emission cross section, short fluorescent lifetime or the need for cryogenic cooling. We are proposing to investigate gadolinium aluminate as a host material for several potential active ions. This material can be grown with excellent optical quality. We will investigate this material as a host for the active ions of titanium, chromium, vanadium and copper. Spectroscopic samples of undoped and doped material will be investigated. Measurements on the doped samples will include absorption, fluorescence, fluorescent lifetime, small signal gain and the dopant concentration. Those crystals that appear to be the most promising will be the subject of further development during a phase ii program.
Keywords: laser materials solid state las tunable lasers aluminates gadolinium crystals ions vibronic lasers
