Ultrabroadband operation of a cr(4+): forsterite laser by use of a spatially dispersed resonator

Ultrabroadband (half-width of 88 nm) nanosecond Cr(4+):forsterite oscillation was achieved simultaneously in the 1170-1340-nm range (1085 cm(-1)) by use of a spatially dispersed resonator with an intracavity prism pair. The laser demonstrates 4.8% real pump-to-laser efficiency. The oscillation build-up time for different spectral components is around 20 ns and varies by only 2.5 ns in the 1190-1260-nm region, which indicates that the ultrabroadband laser represents a complex multifrequency laser system with nonlinear spectral mode interaction.