Passively Q-switched 5-µm Ce3+-doped selenide glass laser using Fe:CdTe and Fe:CdSe as saturable absorbers.

The first, to the best of our knowledge, mid-infrared Q-switched Ce3+-doped glass laser is demonstrated. As saturable absorbers, Fe2+:CdSe and Fe2+:CdTe are used for the first time. When Q-switched by Fe:CdSe, the laser operates in a multi-pulse regime with an individual pulse width of 110 ns, centered at λ = 5.20 µm. With Fe:CdTe as saturable absorber, 1-3 giant pulses of 30 ns pulse width are generated at λ = 5.13 µm.