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.
Brunner
F
F
Paschotta
R
R
Aus der Au
J
J
Spühler
G J
GJ
Morier-Genoud
F
F
Hövel
R
R
Moser
M
M
Erhard
S
S
Karszewski
M
M
Giesen
A
A
Keller
U
U