TY - JOUR AB - We show for the first time that multi-ten Watt operation of an Alexandrite laser can be achieved with direct red diode-pumping and with high efficiency. An investigation of diode end-pumped Alexandrite rod lasers demonstrates continuous-wave output power in excess of 26W, more than an order of magnitude higher than previous diode end-pumping systems, and slope efficiency 49%, the highest reported for a diode-pumped Alexandrite laser. Wavelength tuning from 730 to 792nm is demonstrated using self-seeding feedback from an external grating. Q-switched laser operation based on polarization-switching to a lower gain axis of Alexandrite has produced ~mJ-pulse energy at 1kHz pulse rate in fundamental TEM00 mode. AU - Teppitaksak,A AU - Minassian,A AU - Thomas,GM AU - Damzen,MJ DO - 10.1364/OE.22.016386 EP - 16392 PY - 2014/// SN - 1094-4087 SP - 16386 TI - High efficiency > 26 W diode end-pumped Alexandrite laser T2 - Optics Express UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.22.016386 UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000338055900114&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202 UR - https://www.osapublishing.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-22-13-16386&id=294315 VL - 22 ER -