Nearly quantum-noise-limited timing jitter from miniature Er:Yb:glass lasers.

We report on nearly quantum-limited timing-jitter performance of two passively mode-locked Er:Yb:glass lasers with a repetition rate of 10 GHz. The relative timing jitter of both lasers was measured to be 190 fs (100 Hz-1.56 MHz) root mean square. The remaining cavity-length fluctuations are below 7.5 pm in the 6 Hz-8 kHz frequency range, indicating the stability of a rugged miniature cavity setup. By actively controlling the cavity length we reduced the timing jitter to 26 fs (6 Hz-1.56 MHz). We also discuss the influence of cavity length on the practically achievable timing jitter.

Soliton mode-locked Er:Yb:glass laser.

We report on a simple diode-pumped passively mode-locked Er:Yb:glass laser generating transform-limited 1536-nm solitons of 255-fs duration with a repetition rate of 50 MHz and average power of 58 mW. We also discuss timing jitter and the trade-off between short pulses and high output power in these lasers.

Compact 10-GHz Nd:GdVO4 laser with 0.5-W average output power and low timing jitter.

We demonstrate a compact, diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser with a repetition rate of 9.66 GHz and 0.5-W average output power. The laser is passively mode locked with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), yielding 12-ps-long sech2-shaped pulses. For synchronization of the pulse train to an external reference clock, the SESAM is mounted on a piezoelectric transducer. With an electronic feedback loop of only a few kilohertz loop bandwidth we achieved a rms timing jitter of 146 fs (integrated from 10 Hz to 10 MHz). This is an upper limit because it is mostly limited by the measurement system. The laser setup with a simple linear cavity has a footprint of only 130 mm x 30 mm.

Widely tunable pulse durations from a passively mode-locked thin-disk Yb:YAG laser.

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.

16.2-W average power from a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:YAG thin disk laser.

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.

Diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:KGd(WO(4))(2) laser with 1.1-W average power.

We demonstrate what is to our knowledge the first mode-locked Yb:KGd(WO(4))(2) laser. Using a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror for passive mode locking, we obtain pulses of 176-fs duration with an average power of 1.1 W and a peak power of 64 kW at a center wavelength of 1037 nm. We achieve pulses as short as 112 fs at a lower output power. The laser is based on a standard delta cavity and pumped by two high-brightness laser diodes, making the whole system very simple and compact. Tuning the laser by means of a knife-edge results in mode-locked pulses within a wavelength range from 1032 to 1054 nm. In cw operation, we achieve output powers as high as 1.3 W.

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YAG laser with 10-W average power in a diffraction-limited beam.

We present a passively mode-locked Nd:YAG laser with 10.7-W average output power in a diffraction-limited beam. Stable self-starting mode locking with a pulse duration of 16 ps and a pulse energy of 120 nJ is obtained with a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror. The laser is directly side pumped with two 20-W diode bars. Single-pass frequency doubling in an external 5-mm-thick KTP crystal yields 3.2-W average power at 532 nm.

Mode-locked laser cavities with a single prism for dispersion compensation.

We demonstrate the use of a single prism for adjustable dispersion compensation in a mode-locked laser cavity, instead of the standard approach with a prism pair. A simple model based on the prism-pair configuration is presented to determine the group-velocity dispersion by use of ray optics to trace the wavelength-dependent optical axes through the cavity. We experimentally demonstrated this concept with a passively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:glass laser producing 200-fs pulses with a 200-mW average output power, using only one intracavity prism. The advantages of such a cavity design are simple alignment, reduced loss, and lossless wavelength tunability This technique can be generalized to other angularly dispersive elements such as prismatic output couplers.