Thulium Laser Pumped Mid-IR Source With Multi-Spectral Line Output

A tunable solid state laser system for producing a simultaneous, multi-spectral output comprising:

• a laser crystal doped with an amount of thulium activator ions sufficient to produce a first laser emission at substantially 2 microns when the laser crystal is pumped by a pump beam;
• a pump laser for generating the pump beam for pumping the laser crystal;
• an optical parametric oscillator having a Zinc Germanium Phosphide crystal, the optical parametric oscillator having the first laser emission impinging thereon for converting said first laser emission and providing more than two useful laser emissions having different wavelengths, with the unconverted residual portion of the first laser emission being one of the useful laser emissions output from the oscillator;
• wherein the more than two useful laser emissions having different wavelengths comprise the simultaneous, multi-spectral output from the solid state laser system, and all wavelengths are in the mid infrared range.

A method for producing simultaneous, multi-spectral output from a laser system comprising the steps of:

• generating a first laser emission at substantially 2 microns from a thulium doped YALO laser having a host material doped with an amount of thulium activator ions sufficient to produce the first laser emission when the laser crystal is pumped by a pump beam from a pump laser;
• and
• driving an optical parametric oscillator with the first laser emission, the optical parametric oscillator having a plurality of Zinc Germanium Phosphide crystals for converting the first laser emission into more than two useful laser emissions having different wavelengths, and the unconverted residual portion of the first laser emission provides another useful output from the oscillator;
• wherein the unconverted residual first wavelength emission and the converted useful laser emissions having different wavelengths from the optical parametric oscillator comprise the simultaneous, multi-spectral output from the solid state laser system, and all wavelengths are in the mid infrared range.