title: 40-fs Yb3+:CaGdAlO4 laser pumped by a single-mode 350-mW laser diode.
abstract: We report the results of the investigation on a passively mode-locked Yb(3+):CaGdAlO(4) laser, pumped by a single transverse mode laser diode emitting 350 mW at 980 nm. This particular pump source allows efficient pumping with a nearly TEM(00) beam and minimal thermal load, making the optimization of the mode-locking performance more straightforward than with higher-power multimode beams. Indeed, using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and extra-cavity dispersion compensation, pulses as short as 40 fs (31-nm spectrum) have been measured, tunable across 20 nm with 15-mW output power. Slightly longer Fourier-limited 46-fs pulses with 33 mW output power directly from the oscillator have been achieved, using a different saturable absorber mirror. Such overall performance, especially considering these are among the shortest pulses generated in diode-pumped ytterbium lasers, confirms the excellent qualities of Yb(3+):CaGdAlO(4).
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronica dell’Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy. antonio.agnesi@unipv.it
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agnesi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Greborio
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pirzio
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reali
authors.forename: Juerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aus der Au
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guandalini
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*