Mode-locked Yb:KGW laser longitudinally pumped by polarization-coupled diode bars.

Mode-locked operation of a simple Yb:KGW (potassium gadolinium tungstate) oscillator is described, providing 10 W at 1039 nm with a 290 fs pulse width. A polarization-coupled scheme is used for efficient longitudinal pumping by a pair of reshaped laser diode bars. With changes in cavity dispersion, the pulse width is adjustable from 134 to 433 fs, in a high-quality circular mode. A saturable absorber mirror provides self-starting operation, and the cavity is stabilized by the Kerr-lens effect.

[1]  A. R. Sarmani,et al.  Yb3+-doped YVO4 crystal for efficient Kerr-lens mode locking in solid-state lasers. , 2005, Optics letters.

[2]  Steven R Bowman,et al.  Thermo-optical parameters measured in ytterbium-doped potassium gadolinium tungstate. , 2005, Applied optics.

[3]  J. Limpert,et al.  131 W 220 fs fiber laser system. , 2005, Optics letters.

[4]  G. Boulon.  Yb3+-doped oxide crystals for diode-pumped solid state lasers: crystal growth, optical spectroscopy, new criteria of evaluation and combinatorial approach , 2003 .

[5]  T. Südmeyer,et al.  60-W average power in 810-fs pulses from a thin-disk Yb:YAG laser. , 2003, Optics letters.

[6]  Arkady Major,et al.  An extended cavity diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:KGW laser for applications in optical DNA sensor technology based on fluorescence lifetime measurements. , 2006, Optics express.

[7]  J. S. Aitchison,et al.  Characterization of the nonlinear refractive index of the laser crystal Yb:KGd(WO4)2 , 2003 .

[8]  Yung-Fu Chen,et al.  Optimization of fiber-coupled laser-diode end-pumped lasers: influence of pump-beam quality , 1996 .

[9]  F. Krausz,et al.  Continuous-wave mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser focusable to 5 x 10(13) W/cm(2). , 1998, Optics letters.

[10]  P. Georges,et al.  Thermal lensing in diode-pumped ytterbium Lasers-Part II: evaluation of quantum efficiencies and thermo-optic coefficients , 2004, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[11]  U. Keller,et al.  Diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:KGd(WO(4))(2) laser with 1.1-W average power. , 2000, Optics letters.

[12]  G. Mourou,et al.  Diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:KY(WO(4))(2) laser. , 2001, Optics letters.

[13]  K. German.  Polarization beam splitters for pumping of F II-center lasers. , 1979, Optics letters.

[14]  T. Brabec,et al.  Mode locking in solitary lasers. , 1991, Optics letters.