RESUMO
We demonstrate a passively mode-locked thin-disk Yb:YAG laser that generates solitonlike pulses with durations that are continuously tunable in a very wide range from 3.3 to 89 ps or from 0.83 to 1.57 ps. The average powers are typically ~12 W . Previously [Opt. Lett. 25, 859 (2000)], only pulse durations in a narrow range near 0.7 ps could be obtained from such lasers because of the effect of spatial hole burning. We achieved this much wider range by constructing a laser cavity with two different angles of incidence on the thin disk, which greatly reduces the effect of spatial hole burning.
RESUMO
We demonstrate a power-scalable concept for high-power all-solid-state femtosecond lasers, based on passive mode locking of Yb:YAG thin disk lasers with semiconductor saturable-absorber mirrors. We obtained 16.2 W of average output power in pulses with 730-fs duration, 0.47-muJ pulse energy, and 560-kW peak power. This is to our knowledge the highest average power reported for a laser oscillator in the subpicosecond regime. Single-pass frequency doubling through a 5-mm-long lithium triborate crystal (LBO) yields 8-W average output power of 515-nm radiation.
RESUMO
A new powerful source of broadly (35-nm) tunable laser radiation in the near-infrared (near 1030 nm) wavelength range is presented. Inserting a birefringent filter into a 10-W diode-pumped Yb:YAG thin disk laser resonator gives several watts of narrow-linewidth (0.07-nm) continuously tunable cw output power. By taking advantage of the power scalability of the thin disk concept, even hundreds of watts of tunable power with near-diffraction-limited beam quality and high efficiency are feasible. Generation and amplification of subpicosecond pulses with high average and peak powers are also promising applications of the Yb:YAG thin disk laser.
