Diode-Pumped 188 Fs Mode-Locked Yb3+: Y2o3 Ceramic Laser

The authors have demonstrated a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb3+:Y2O3 ceramic laser by use of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. 188 fs pulses at a center wavelength of 1038 nm are obtained. The maximum output power is 220 mW at an absorbed pump power of 2.4 W with a diffraction-limited beam quality (M2 < 1.1). This is the shortest pulse generation from Yb-doped sesquioxide lasers and ceramic lasers ever reported. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.