Dynamic gain aperture modelocking in picosecond regime based on cascaded second-order nonlinearity.

The operation of a cascaded second-order mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser has been investigated considering it as a soft-aperture Kerr lens type and using complex beam parameters. A self consistent complex beam propagation method is used to incorporate the effect of cascaded Kerr nonlinearity on radially varying gain aperturing. The analysis deduces a stable pulsewidth of ~9.5 ps which agrees well with the experimental value of 10.3 ps.