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