The increased interest in lasers operating in the mid-infrared spectral region has prompted the development of new gain materials with low maximum phonon energy. Fluorites (calcium fluoride [CaF2], strontium fluoride [SrF2], and barium fluoride [BaF2]) have emerged as promising laser host crystals due to their low phonon energies, high thermal conductivities, and ability to incorporate RE dopants. Dy3+ has been studied in CaF2 and SrF2 but its spectroscopic properties are largely unexplored in BaF2. In this work, dysprosium-doped barium fluoride was explored for its mid-infrared laser potential in the 3-μm spectral region. Results of absorption and fluorescence measurements were used to generate stimulated-emission cross sections, and the gain characteristics were determined at both room temperature and 77 K.
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