Diode-pumped ultrafast Yb:KGW laser with 56 fs pulses and multi-100 kW peak power based on SESAM and Kerr-lens mode locking

A high-power sub-60 fs mode-locked diode-pumped Yb:KGW laser based on hybrid action of an InGaAs quantum-dot saturable absorber mirror and Kerr-lens mode locking was demonstrated. The laser delivered 56 fs pulses with 1.95 W of average power corresponding to 450 kW of peak power. The width of the generated laser spectrum was 20.5 nm, which was near the gain bandwidth limit of the Yb:KGW crystal. To the best of our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses generated from the monoclinic double tungstate crystals (and Yb:KGW laser crystal in particular) and the most powerful in the sub-60 fs regime. At the same time, they are also the shortest pulses produced to date with the help of a quantum-dot-based saturable absorber. High-power operation with a pulse duration of 90 fs and 2.85 W of average output power was also demonstrated

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked tunable Yb:CALGO solid-state laser

In this paper, we present a simple, compact, and efficient Yb:CALGO laser system that can produce sub-100 fs pulses easily tunable over a 38 nm wide wavelength range between 1034 and 1072 nm. The laser is passively mode locked with a semiconductor saturable absorber and generates up to 90 mW output power (for 230 mW absorbed pump), using a single prism for both tuning and dispersion compensation

40-fs Yb3+:CaGdAlO4 laser pumped by a single-mode 350-mW laser diode

We report the results of the investigation on a passively mode-locked Yb3+:CaGdAlO4 laser, pumped by a single transverse mode laser diode emitting 350 mW at 980 nm. This particular pump source allows efficient pumping with a nearly TEM00 beam and minimal thermal load, making the optimization of the mode-locking performance more straightforward than with higher-power multimode beams. Indeed, using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and extra-cavity dispersion compensation, pulses as short as 40 fs (31-nm spectrum) have been measured, tunable across 20 nm with 15-mW output power. Slightly longer Fourier-limited 46-fs pulses with 33 mW output power directly from the oscillator have been achieved, using a different saturable absorber mirror. Such overall performance, especially considering these are among the shortest pulses generated in diode-pumped ytterbium lasers, confirms the excellent qualities of Yb3+:CaGdAlO4

Efficient and widely tunable, single-mode diode-pumped sub-100 fs Yb3+:CaGdAlO4 laser

We present a compact and efficient single-mode diode-pumped, passively mode-locked Yb3+:CaGdAlO4 laser. Sub-100 fs pulses, tunable over 30 nm, with output power exceeding 50 mW at any operational wavelength were obtained