Broadband continuously tunable Er:Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 1.5–1.6 μm laser

By combining the thermally-induced spectral broadening of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped crystal and the high ratio of cavity gain to loss, a high-power broadband continuously tunable 1.5-1.6 μm laser was successfully demonstrated in an Er:Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 crystal. End-pumped by a continuous-wave 975.6 nm laser diode, three discrete tunable laser bands at 1483–1488, 1495–1503, and 1521–1612 nm were realized at an incident pump power of 7.7 W. The maximum continuously tunable bandwidth was 91 nm at 1521–1612 nm, and the maximum output power was 474 mW at 1551 nm. The output power was generally higher than 100 mW in the whole tunable range. © 2024 Chinese Optics Letters.