Optical pumping of neodymium glass by radiation emitted from a high-current discharge

A neodymium glass laser was pumped by the radiation emitted from a high-current pulse (τ = 70 μ sec) discharge. Such pumping reduced the free-oscillation threshold by 40% compared with the pumping provided by standard lamps in an elliptic reflector. The use of a high-current discharge as the pumping source for Q-switched neodymium lasers increased considerably the laser efficiency.