Mode-locked operation of a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb : SrF2 laser

International audienceFemtosecond mode-locked operation is demonstrated for the first time, to our knowledge, with a Yb:SrF2 crystal. The shortest pulse duration is 143 fs for an average power of 450 mW. The highest average power is 620 mW for a pulse duration of 173 fs. Since Yb:SrF2 corresponds to the longest-lifetime Yb-doped crystal with which the mode-locking operation has been achieved, a detailed analysis is carried out to characterize the quality of the solitonlike regime

Thermal behaviour of ytterbium-doped fluorite crystals under high power pumping

International audienceWe report an in situ thermal study of Yb-doped fluorite crystals Yb:CaF2 and Yb:SrF2 under high power pumping, with or without laser operation. The experiment combines simultaneously thermography and measurement of the thermal aberrations. This setup allows us to measure temperature gradients, thermal lens, and absorption coefficients. From these measurements, we evaluate the thermal conductivity, fractional thermal load, and thermo-optic coefficient. Great differences are observed between the lasing and non lasing regimes. Our measured thermal lenses are greater than what are expected from the thermo-optic parameters found in previous work. Based on this thermal study, we design a laser cavity operating with large output power and TEM00, leading to better performances for Yb:CaF2 than Yb:SrF2

Diode-pumped 99 fs Yb : CaF2 oscillator

International audienceWe demonstrate the generation of 99 fs pulses by a mode-locked laser oscillator built around a Yb:CaF2 crystal. An average power of 380 mW for a 13 nm bandwidth spectrum centered at 1053 nm is obtained. The short-pulse operation is achieved thanks to a saturable absorber mirror and is stabilized by the Kerr lens effect. We investigated the limits of the stabilization process and observed a regime slowly oscillating between mode locking and Q switching

Broadband Yb:CaF2 regenerative amplifier for millijoule range ultrashort pulse amplification

International audienceWe report on a diode-pumped regenerative amplifier based on Yb:CaF2 material, delivering pulses up to 1.8mJ pulse energy at a repetition rate of 100Hz. The crystal is pumped at the zero line at 978 nm with a 10W continuous wave (CW) fiber coupled laser diode. The pulses have a spectral bandwidth of 16nm centered at 1040 nm, which indicates a good potential for millijoule range sub 100fs pulse duration after compression. It is also a good candidate for seeding higher energy diode-pumped ytterbium lasers

Comparative spectroscopic and laser properties of Yb3+-doped CaF2, SrF2 and BaF2 single crystals

International audienceWe present the spectroscopic properties and room-temperature cw tunable laser operation of Yb3+-doped CaF2, SrF2 and BaF2 single crystals grown and studied in the same conditions. Emission cross sections, lifetimes, laser thresholds, laser slope efficiencies and laser wavelength tuning ranges are compared. It appears that Yb3+- doped BaF2 might be more promising for diode-pumped high power laser operation

Rare-earth doped halide crystals for laser applications: recent advances and furure trends

International audienceThe presentation will give the state of the art and the results of the last advances obtained in the growth, the characterization and the implementation of three kinds of rare-earth doped halide laser crystals: Pr3+ doped fluorides, Yb3+ doped CaF2 and its isotypes, and Er3+ and Pr3+ doped chloride and bromide KPb2Cl5 and Tl3PbBr5

Yb3+ Doped (Ca,Sr,Ba)F2 for High Power Laser Applications

International audienceYb3+ doped CaF2 has been proved in the last years to be one of the most attractive Yb3+ doped materials for broadly tunable, high power and shor

Yb3+ Doped (Ca,Sr,Ba)F2 for High Power Laser Applications

International audienceYb3+ doped CaF2 has been proved in the last years to be one of the most attractive Yb3+ doped materials for broadly tunable, high power and shor

Mode-locked operation of a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb : SrF2 laser

International audienceFemtosecond mode-locked operation is demonstrated for the first time, to our knowledge, with a Yb:SrF2 crystal. The shortest pulse duration is 143 fs for an average power of 450 mW. The highest average power is 620 mW for a pulse duration of 173 fs. Since Yb:SrF2 corresponds to the longest-lifetime Yb-doped crystal with which the mode-locking operation has been achieved, a detailed analysis is carried out to characterize the quality of the solitonlike regime

Femtosecond oscillators based on Yb:CaF2 and Yb:SrF2

International audienc