Comparative studies of semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode-locking dynamics in pulsed diode-end-pumped picosecond Nd:GdVO4 and Nd:YAG lasers

Ultrashort pulses were generated in passively mode-locked Nd:YAG and Nd:GdVO4 lasers pumped by a pulsed laser diode with 10-Hz repetition rate. Stable mode-locked pulse trains were produced with the pulse width of 10 ps. The evolution of the mode-locked pulse was observed in the experiment and was discussed in detail. Comparing the pulse evolutions of Nd:YAG and Nd:GdVO4 lasers, we found that the buildup time of the steady-state mode-locking with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) was relevant to the upper-state lifetime and the emission cross-section of the gain medium.     

Passive mode locking of a diode-pumped Nd:Gd 0.64 Y 0.36 VO 4 laser with a GaAs saturable absorber mirror

We report a diode-pumped Nd:Gd_0.64Y_0.36VO₄ laser passively mode locked by using a GaAs saturable absorber mirror. Both the Q-switched and continuous-wave (CW) mode locking were experimentally realized. The CW mode-locked pulses have a pulse width of about 8.8 ps at a repetition rate of 161.3 MHz. Limited by the available pump power, a maximum output power of 2.47 W was obtained for the CW mode-locked pulses with a slope efficiency of about 26.6%.     

Passively mode-locked Nd:GGG laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

The mode-locking operation of the Nd:GGG crystal with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) was demonstrated. Continuous wave (CW) mode-locking was obtained with the pulse duration of 11 ps and the pulse repetition rate of 40.38 MHz. At 7 W of pump power, the maximum average output power of 1.1 W was obtained with the slope efficiency of 18.1%.     

Robust diode-end-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser passively mode-locked with saturable output coupler

Passively mode-locked diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) Nd:GdVO₄ laser by using a saturable output coupler (SOC) in stable two-mirror linear cavity design is demonstrated. The laser was pumped by low-power single laser diode without any active cooling and external optics. Robust CW mode-locked operation was obtained with a repetition of 150–250 MHz, the pulsewidth was 12 ps, the lowest threshold for CW mode-locked was 185 mW. The optimal condition is found when the laser provides the set of characteristics: low CW mode-locking threshold (～260 mW), compact size (total cavity length 60 cm), good efficiency (～20%), and very stable output. At the output power of 270 mW an average power fluctuations within ±2% for long-term operation was obtained.     

Passive mode locking of a Nd：YAG laser with co－doped Nd, Cr：YAG as saturable absorber

We demonstrate the characteristics of relatively low saturation intensity using co-doped Nd, Cr:YAG as saturable absorber for passively mode locking the Nd:YAG laser. The difference of the saturation intensity between Q-switched and mode-locked operation in co-doped Nd, Cr:YAG was only one to two orders of magnitude, while Cr:YAG was generally reported at a difference of five orders of magnitude. More than 80% mode locking modulation depth was achieved at an incident pump power of 4.4W, corresponding to an intracavity intensity of 6×10^4W/cm^2, using a 68cm long plano-concave cavity.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:LuVO4 laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We present a compact passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:LuVO₄ laser run in a Z-type folded cavity with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The repetition rates of the passively Q-switched pulse envelope ranges from 22.99 to 141.18 kHz as the pump power increased from 2.372 to 8.960 W. The repetition rates of mode-locked laser pulses in the Q-switched pulse envelope has 111 MHz determined by the cavity length and the mode-locked pulse duration is evaluated to be 257 ps. An average output power of 823.5 mW is achieved at the pump power of 8.96 W, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 9.2%.     

半导体可饱和吸收镜锁模的钒酸盐混晶Nd:Gd0.1Y0.9VO4激光器

采用Nd∶Gd_0.1Y_0.9VO₄晶体作为增益介质和Z形腔结构,分析比较了腔内加入自行设计的镀和不镀高反膜的半导体可饱和吸收镜（SESAM）对激光锁模的影响.在腔内加入镀膜SESAM后,激光锁模阈值由1.69W下降为1.45W,并且锁模更稳定.在2W抽运功率下,在1064nm中心波长处获得了双端250mW的连续锁模输出,光光转换效率为12.5%,重复频率为142.25MHz. 关键词： 0.1Y_0.9VO₄激光器')" href="#">Nd∶Gd_0.1Y_0.9VO₄激光器 半导体可饱和吸收镜 连续锁模     

High-power passively Q-switched mode-locking Nd:GdVO4 laser with LT-InGaAs saturable absorber

The generation of passively Q-switched mode-locking (QML) pulse has been obtained from a diode-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser with a LT-InGaAs wafer as saturable absorber as well as output coupler. Under the incident pump power of 10 W, an average output power of QML was 1.8 W with a Q-switched repetition rate of 280 kHz. The pulse duration of Q-switched pulse is about 160 ns and mode-locked pulse within the Q-switched envelope had a repetition rate of 410 MHz. It is indicated that the present LT-InGaAs is a very promising device in the field of mode locking solid-state laser, and we are sure that it will be complete pure cw mode locking with single beam output easily after further optimizing in the parameter such as saturation fluence, modulation depth, recovery time and damage threshold in semiconductors.     

5.3-W Nd:YVO4 passively mode-locked laser by a novel semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We report a diode end-pumped continuous wave (CW) passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with a homemade semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The maximum average output power is 5.3 W at the incident pump power of 17 W, which corresponds to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 31.2% and slope efficiency of 34.7%. The corresponding optical spectrum has a 0.2-nm full width at half maximum (FWHM), and the pulse repetition rate is 83 MHz.     

5.3-W Nd:YVO_4 passively mode-locked laser by a novel semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We report a diode end-pumped continuous wave (CW) passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with a homemade semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The maximum average output power is 5.3 W at the incident pump power of 17 W, which corresponds to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 31.2% and slope efficiency of 34.7%. The corresponding optical spectrum has a 0.2-nm full width at half maximum (FWHM). and the pulse repetition rate is 83 MHz.     

Raman fiber laser pumped by a semiconductor disk laser and mode locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

A 1.6μm mode-locked Raman fiber laser pumped by a 1480nm semiconductor disk laser is demonstrated. Watt-level core pumping of the single-mode fiber Raman lasers with low-noise disk lasers together with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode locking represents a highly practical solution for short-pulse operation.     

Optimization of diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked c-cut Nd:GdVO4 laser with a GaAs saturable absorber

By considering the single-photon absorption (SPA) and two-photon absorption (TPA) processes in the GaAs saturable absorber, the coupled rate equations for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) laser with GaAs coupler under Gaussian approximation are given. The key parameters of an optimally coupled passively QML laser can be obtained by numerically solving these equations. These key parameters include the parameters of the gain medium, the saturable absorber and the resonator, which can maximize the pulse energy of singly Q-switched envelope. Sample calculations for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ laser with a GaAs saturable absorber are presented to demonstrate the optimal method applicable.     

Comparative study of the mode-locking of Nd:GdVO_4 and Nd:YAG lasers with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors

Stable continuous-wave passive mode-locking of diode-end-pumped Nd:GdVO4 and Nd:YAG lasers with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) are reported. The comparative study shows that the Nd:GdVO4 crystal is efficient to decrease the Q-switched mode-locking tendency, and easier to continuous-wave (CW) mode lock than Nd:YAG.     

Single output LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

A quarter-wave plate and the thin film polarizer(TFP) are used for the LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror(SESAM) to obtain a single beam output with a total power of 4.8 W.An optical-optical efficiency is achieved to be 24% for a stable CW mode-locking operation at 1064 nm,with a pulse repetition rate of 70 MHz and pulse width of 16 ps.The multipulse in the pulse sequence is eliminated for reaching a peak power as high as 4 kW.     

Diode-end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:GGG laser with a semiconductor saturable mirror

We report on the passive mode-locking of a diode-end-pumped neodymium-doped gadolinium gallium garnet (Nd:GGG) crystal with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). Continuous wave (CW) mode-locking was obtained. The mode-locked pulse duration was estimated to be ∼17.5 ps with a maximum average output power of 0.4 W. The mode-locked pulses have a repetition rate of 121.5 MHz. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of passive mode-locking of the diode pumped Nd:GGG lasers.     

Passively Q-switched Er-doped fiber laser using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

A passively Q-switched Er-doped fiber laser using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) is demonstrated. Q-switching is observed with the output power produced at a slope efficiency of 29.4% with respect to the absorbed pump power. The maximum average output power of 8.37 mW is achieved. The pulse repetition frequency obtained can be turned from 1.72 to 7.95 kHz. The pulse energy of 17.2 nJ has been obtained at the pump power of 46.75 mW, and the pulse width is 30 μs.     

Pulse compression in AO Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser with Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

By simultaneously using both an acoustic-optic (AO) modulator and a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber in the cavity, for the first time, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser has been realized. The pulse duration is obviously compressed in contrast to the actively acoustic-optic Q-switched laser. By considering the Gaussian transversal distribution of the intracavity photon density and the longitudinal distribution of the photon density along the cavity axis as well as the influence of turnoff time of the acoustic-optic (AO) Q-switch, we provide the coupled rate equations for a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser with both an acoustic-optic (AO) modulator and a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber. These coupled rate equations are solved numerically, and the dependence of pulse width, pulse energy and peak power on the incident pump power at different pulse repetition rates is obtained. The numerical solutions of equations agree well with the experimental results.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Analysis of a laser-diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser with V3+:YAG saturable absorber

By considering both the transversal and longitudinal Gaussian spatial distribution of the intracavity photon density, a couple of rate equations describing a laser-diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser with V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber have been proposed. Solving these space-dependent rate equations numerically, we obtain the dependences of pulse width, pulse repetition rate, single-pulse energy and peak power on pump power. In the experiment, a laser-diode end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser passively Q-switched by a V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber has been realized, and the experimental results are consistent with the theoretical calculations.     

Passively mode-locked fiber ring laser using semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We experimentally demonstrate a fiber laser passively mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) in a ring cavity. A pulse series with a temporal width of 1 ns is generated at a repetition rate of 12.3 MHz. With careful polarization adjustment, the pulse width decreases, the peak power increases and the spectral sidebands are formed in the optical spectrum. The reason of the phenomenon above has been analyzed. In addition, the characteristic of the pulse with different length of the Er³⁺ Doped Fiber (EDF) is studied and the results show that it is reabsorption that causes the laser to shift to longer wavelength direction when the EDF length increases.     

Passive mode locking of Yb:KLuW using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber

Mode locking of an Yb-doped bulk laser in the 1 microm spectral range using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA) is demonstrated for the first time, to our knowledge. Passive mode locking of an Yb:KLuW laser resulted in nearly transform-limited pulses as short as 115 fs at 1048 nm. In addition, the nonlinear response of the SWCNT-SA was measured, yielding a modulation depth of 0.25% and a relaxation time of 750 fs.