Determination of the transport mean free path in a solid-state random laser

Abstract
Using the coherent backscattering technique, we have measured the transport mean-free-path lengths lt for photons in NdAl3(BO3)4 powder, a promising solid-state random laser material. The developed model allows one to calculate lt as a function of the mean particle size s in tightly packed powder or sintered ceramic. The experimentally determined value of lt is in good agreement with the model prediction.