First ceramic laser in the visible spectral range

Results for new fluoride ceramics doped with praseodymium ions in which, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time a laser in the visible spectral range (639 nm) was obtained under GaInN blue laser diode optical pumping. In our experiments, CW operation with lasing threshold less than 100 mW of absorbed pump power and slope efficiency exceeding 9% was realized. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America