Cascaded Mode-Locked Nd:YVO₄ Laser Using MgO Doped Periodically-Poled LiNbO₃ With Direct In-Band Diode Pumping at 914 nm

We report a cascaded mode-locked Nd:YVO ₄ laser at 1064 nm with direct in-band pumping at 914 nm. A 25-mm-long MgO doped periodically-poled LiNbO ₃ crystal was used to produce mode-locked laser pulses. A volume Bragg grating was used to manipulate the output spectrum of the laser. In the positive Kerr-lens scheme, the output power was 3.81 W at 166.8-MHz repetition rate. In the negative Kerr-lens scheme, the output power was 4.81 W at 108.6-MHz repetition rate. Typical pulse duration and the full-width-at-half-maximum spectral width were 35 ps and 0.05 nm, respectively, yielding a time-bandwidth product of 0.5.