Faraday rotation optical isolator for 10.6-μm radiation

Measurements that have been performed indicate that hot-pressed ferromagnetic CdCr(2)S(4) would be a useful Faraday optical isolator material for laser systems at 10.6 microm. A large-aperture, liquid-nitrogen-cooled isolator, requiring modest magnetic fields with material of optimum thickness, would provide isolation in excess of 30 dB with insertion loss due to optical absorption in the active element of less than 3 dB. Consideration of its figure of merit indicates that hot-pressed CdCr(2)S(4) could be used as an isolator at 1.06 microm, introducing less than 2 dB insertion loss due to optical absorption at that wavelength.