Demonstration of room-temperature laser action at 2.5 μm from Cr^2+:Cd_0.85Mn_0.15Te

Room-temperature laser action from Cr2+-doped Cd0.85Mn0.15Te has been demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time. We achieved pulsed laser operation centered at similar to 2.5 mu m by pumping into the mid-infrared absorption band of Cr2+ ions by use of the 1.907-mu m output of a H-2 Raman-shifted Nd:YAG laser. The output of the free-running Cr2+:Cd0.85Mn0.15Te laser had a width of similar to 50 nm (FWHM), and the slope efficiency was calculated to be 5.5% under nonoptimum conditions. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.