Oxide and halide laser glasses

Optical and spectroscopic properties of oxide and halide glasses are compared for optically-pumped laser applications. Properties considered include the transparency, linear and nonlinear refractive indices, and damage threshold of the host glass and the absorption spectrum, radiative and nonradiative transition probabilities, fluorescence wavelength, stimulated emission cross sections, and spectroscopic inhomogeneities of the lasing ion. Most of these properties exhibit systematic variations with glass composition which can be used to tailor laser parameters. Measured properties for the (4)F sub(3/2) yields (4)I sub (11/2) lasing transition of Nd(3+) are surveyed for oxide (silicate, phosphate, borate, germanate, tellurite), halide (fluoroberyllate, fluoroaluminate, fluorozirconate, fluorohafnate, chloride), and oxyhalide (fluorophosphate, chlorophosphate) glasses.