Low-threshold femtosecond Nd:glass laser.
Using a 150-mW single-transverse-mode laser diode at 802 nm for pumping an Nd:phosphate laser, we achieved efficient cw operation (40% slope efficiency) with pump threshold as low as 12 mW at optimum coupling, and a maximum output power of 53 mW. Under passive mode-locking operation, we obtained nearly Fourier-limited 270-fs pulses in a prismless dispersion-compensated cavity and 173-fs pulses with a single-prism setup. This compact laser is especially interesting for applications requiring low power levels, such as seeding amplifiers and for biodiagnostics.
Agnesi
Antonio
A
Dipartimento di Elettronica dell'Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy. antonio.agnesi@unipv.it
Pirzio
Federico
F
Reali
Giancarlo
G
D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005898:Glass; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity