title: Yb3+-doped YVO4 crystal for efficient Kerr-lens mode locking in solid-state lasers.
abstract: We report the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of soft-aperture Kerr-lens mode locking in a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb3+:YVO4 laser. Near-transform-limited pulses as short as 61 fs are generated around a center wavelength of 1050 nm with an output power of 54 mW and a pulse repetition frequency of 104.5 MHz. This is, to our knowledge, the shortest pulse generated directly from an Yb laser having a crystalline host material. The femtosecond operation has a mode-locking threshold at an absorbed pump power of 190 mW. The nonlinear refractive indexes of the Yb3+:YVO4 crystal have been measured to be 19 x 10(-16) cm2/W and 15 x 10(-16) cm2/W for the sigma and pi polarizations, respectively, at 1080 nm.
authors.affiliation: J F Allen Physics Research Laboratories, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK. aal2@st-andrews.ac.uk
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lagatsky
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sarmani
authors.forename: C T A
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sibbett
authors.forename: V E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Kisel
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Selivanov
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Denisov
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Troshin
authors.forename: K V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Yumashev
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Kuleshov
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Matrosov
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Matrosova
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Kupchenko