Diode-pumped tunable laser with dual Cr:LiSAF rods

We propose and demonstrate a simple approach to lower the thermal quenching effect and improve the output power of Cr:LiSAF lasers, which is accomplished by employing two laser rods. The resonator contains two laser rods and is designed by using two ``X'' folding cavities in cascade. A tunable laser output of \sim 180 mW has been achieved with the pump of single-striped laser diodes. Compared with lasers using single gain rod, the laser with dual rods shows less severe thermal effect and increases the output by more than two times.