Efficient continuous-wave self-frequency-doubling green diode-pumped Yb:YAl(3)(BO(3))(4) lasers

Efficient cw self-frequency-doubled green laser output of 160 mW has been obtained from Yb:YAl(3)(BO(3))(4) crystal pumped by 1.4-W incident power from a fiber-coupled 976-nm laser diode. The incident-pump-power-green-output-power conversion efficiency is greater than 11.3%, and the electrical-input-green conversion efficiency is 3.9%. Tunable green output from 513.0 to 545.8 nm is also demonstrated with a quartz birefringent filter.     

Diode-pumped Yb:Sr(3)Y(BO(3))(3) femtosecond laser

We have developed a diode-pumped Yb(3+)Sr(3)Y(BO(3))(3) (Yb:BOYS) laser generating 69-fs pulses, at a central wavelength of 1062 nm. This laser is mode locked by use of a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror and emits 80 mW of average power at 113 MHz. This is, to our knowledge, the first mode-locked Yb:BOYS laser and the shortest duration obtained from an ytterbium laser with a crystalline host. The central wavelength can be tuned from 1051 to 1070 nm, for sub-100-fs pulses. We have also achieved an average power as high as 300 mW with pulse duration of 86 fs at 1068 nm.     

Quasi-CW Diode Laser End-pumped Yb~(3 ): Glass Microchip Laser

Quasi-CW diode-pumped Yb3 : borate glass and Yb3 : phosphate glass microchip lasers have been reported. From Yb3 : phosphate glass laser, the maximum average output power was 31 mW and the optical-optical conversion efficiency was 5% . The maximum average output power was 18 mW, and optical-optical conversion efficiency was 3% for Yb3 :borate glass laser.     

Efficient and tunable diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:glass lasers

Diode-pumped Yb:phosphate and Yb:silicate glass lasers have been passively mode locked for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Reliable self-starting mode locking without critical cavity alignment has been achieved with intracavity semiconductor saturable-absorber mirrors and soliton mode locking. We generated pulses as short as 58 fs with the Yb:phosphate laser and 61 fs with the Yb:silicate laser at average output powers of 65 and 53 mW, respectively. The pulse repetition rate was 112 MHz. Additionally, we demonstrated tunability of femtosecond pulses from 1025 to 1065 nm for the Yb:phosphate and from 1030 to 1082 nm for the Yb:silicate glasses. The highest mode-locked output power was 405 mW, with 183-fs pulses from the phosphate glass. The diode pump power was 1.68 W, corresponding to 24% optical-to-optical efficiency. The highest cw output power was 510 mW at the same incident pump power.     

Efficient femtosecond green-light source with a diode-pumped mode-locked Yb3+:KY(WO4)2 laser

Efficient generation of femtosecond pulses at 524 nm is demonstrated by the extracavity frequency doubling of the output of a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb3+:KY(WO4)2 laser using a periodically poled LiTaO3 crystal. An average second-harmonic power of 120 mW is produced at an internal conversion efficiency of 40%. The temporal characteristics of the frequency-doubled pulses as a function of focusing conditions in a thick nonlinear crystal are investigated experimentally, and pulses as short as 225 fs are generated at a pulse repetition frequency of 86 MHz.     

Green Er(3+):YLiF(4) upconversion laser at 551nm with Yb(3+) codoping: a novel pumping scheme

We report room-temperature continuous-wave upconversion laser emission on the green transition (4)S(3/2)?(4)I(15/2) in Er(1%), Yb(3%):YLiF(4) at 551nm. Green laser operation was obtained for titanium-sapphire pump wavelengths continuously tunable between 955 and 974.5nm. Codoping with Yb(3+) resulted in a more efficient excitation of the upper laser level by upconversion processes. The maximum green laser output power was 37mW at an incident titanium-sapphire pump power level of 1580mW at 966nm.     

Tunable second harmonic generation from a Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:YCa_4O(BO_3)_3 femtosecond laser

We experimentally demonstrated a diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond(fs) laser with a self-frequency doubling Yb:YCa_4O(BO_3)_3 crystal.Sub-40 fs laser pulses were directly generated from the oscillator without extracavity compression.The central wavelength was tunable from 1039 nm to 1049 nm with a typical bandwidth of 35 nm and an average output power of 53 mW.For the first time,a self-frequency doubled second harmonic green laser with tunable range from 519 nm to 525 nm was observed.     

An all-fiber type Er~(3+)/Yb~(3+) co-doped fiber laser

In this paper, a distributed Bragg reflection (DBR) type Er~(3+)/Yb~(3+) co-doped fiber laser of high output power and high slope efficiency was developed. Its gain medium was a 4.45-m-long Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped fiber. When it was pumped by a 1064-nm Nd:YAG, the linewidth of output laser was measured as 0.072 nm by 3 dB and 0.192 nm by 25 dB at 1552.08 nm. The maximum output power was measured as 69 mW. Its power stability was < 5%, side mode suppression ratio was 59 dB, and the output wavelength stability was ±0.01 nm. The laser had a threshold of 12 mW and a slope efficiency of 22%.     

Generation of 90-fs pulses from a mode-locked diode-pumped Yb(3+):Ca(4)GdO(BO(3))(3) laser

A diode-pumped Yb>(3+):Ca(4)GdO(BO>(3))(3) (Yb:GdCOB) laser generating 90-fs pulses at a center wavelength of 1045 nm is demonstrated. This is, to our knowledge, the shortest pulse duration obtained from an ytterbium laser with a crystalline host. This laser is mode locked with a high-finesse semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror and emits 40 mW of average power at a repetition rate of 100 MHz.     

All-solid-state low noise Yb:YAG/LBO green laser at 515 nm

We report the efficient compact green laser at 515 nm generation by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (CW) laser operation of a diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser on the transition at 1030 nm. An LBO crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at room temperature is used for second harmonic generation (SHG) of the laser. With the incident pump power of 10 W, 270 mW of CW output power at 515 nm is achieved with 15-mm-long LBO. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 2.7%, and the power stability in 8 h is better than 2.36% with low noise.     

Diode-pumped sub-100 fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb3+:Sc2O3 ceramic laser

Diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked laser operations of Yb3+:Sc2O3 ceramics have been achieved. 92 fs pulses with the average power of 850 mW under 3.89 W incident pump power were obtained at a center wavelength of 1042 nm. The optical-to-optical efficiency was 21.9%. 90 fs pulses with the average power of 160 mW were also obtained at a center wavelength of 1092 nm. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb3+:Sc2O3 laser.     

Optical parametric generation in 2-mum-wavelength-pumped periodically poled LiNbO(3)

An optical parametric generator based on periodically poled LiNbO(3) and pumped by a 2.051-mum-wavelength laser has been demonstrated. Pump pulses of 50-ns duration of 50-Hz repetition frequency were converted into signal and idler pulses in the 3.4-5.2-mum wavelength range in a double-pass pump configuration by a 5-cm-long quasi-phase-matched crystal. An average pump power of 180 mW generated 30-mW average signal power at 3.64-mum wavelength, corresponding to 16.7% signal conversion efficiency.     

Highly efficient, low-cost femtosecond Cr3+ :LiCAF laser pumped by single-mode diodes

We describe efficient continuous-wave (cw) and cw mode-locked operations of a Cr3+ :LiCAF laser, pumped by inexpensive single spatial mode laser diodes. Up to 280 mW of cw output power was obtained with 570 mW of absorbed pump power, with a corresponding slope efficiency of 54%. Continuous tuning between 765 and 865 nm was demonstrated using a fused silica prism. A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror was used to initiate and sustain stable, self-starting, mode-locked operation. In cw mode locking, the laser produced 72 fs (FWHM) duration pulses, and 1.4 nJ pulse energy, at an average output power of 178 mW. Electrical to optical conversion efficiencies of 7.8% in mode-locked operation and 12.2% in cw operation were demonstrated.     

Diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:CaNb2O6 laser

We report to our knowledge a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb:CaNb(2)O(6) (Yb:CN) laser for the first time. Both CW and passive mode-locking operation of the laser are experimentally investigated. A maximum CW output power of 1.4 W with a slope efficiency of 20% is obtained on a 7 mm long 1.5 at.% Yb:CN crystal, while stable passive mode-locking with a commercial semiconductor saturable absorption mirror (SESAM) was achieved on a 3 mm long 3 at.% Yb:CN crystal. The mode-locked pulses have pulse width of 251 fs and an average output power of 44 mW at 1038 nm.     

Diode-pumped Yb:GSO-LBO laser at 544 nm

We report a green laser at 544 nm generation by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (CW) laser operation of a 1088 nm Yb:GSO laser under in-band diode pumping at 940 nm. An LiB₃O₅ (LBO) crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at room temperature is used for second harmonic generation of the laser. At an incident pump power of 17.8 W, as high as 444 mW of CW output power at 544 nm is achieved. The fluctuation of the green output power was better than 4.6% in the given 4 h.     

Diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:KY(WO(4))(2) laser

A self-starting Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:KY(WO(4))(2) laser directly end pumped by two 1.6-W diodes is demonstrated for what is to our knowledge the first time. Pulses as short as 71 fs with 120-mW average output power, at a center wavelength of 1057 nm, were obtained at a repetition rate of 110 MHz. A 10-nm tuning range was achieved with longer pulses and higher average output power.     

Quasi-CW Diode Laser End-pumped Yb3+∶GlassMicrochip Laser

Quasi-CW diode-pumped Yb3+∶borate glass and Yb3+∶phosphate glass microchip lasers have been reported. From Yb3+∶phosphate glass laser, the maximum average output power was 31 mW and the optical-optical conversion efficiency was 5%.The maximum average output power was 18 mW, and optical-optical conversion efficiency was 3% for Yb3+∶borate glass laser.     

A High Efficiency Yb~(3 )-doped Fiber Ring Cavity Laser with Narrow Line-width

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Diode-pumped 65 fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb(3+):Lu(2)O(3) and nondoped Y(2)O(3) combined ceramic laser

Diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked laser operation of Yb(3+):Lu(2)O(3) and nondoped Y(2)O(3) combined ceramics has been achieved; 65 fs pulses with an average power of 320 mW under 5 W of pump power were obtained at the center wavelength of 1032 nm. The spectral bandwidth and the time bandwidth product were 18.9 and 0.345 nm, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a Kerr-lens mode-locked laser operation based on Yb(3+):Lu(2)O(3) ceramic.     

Diode-pumped Yb3+:KYF4 femtosecond laser

Passive mode locking of a diode-pumped Yb(3+):KYF(4) laser is demonstrated using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. A high-stability, transform-limited pulse train with a repetition rate of 57 MHz is generated. Solitonlike pulses with maximum average output power of 250 mW, minimum pulse duration of 170 fs, and rms time jitter of 360 fs were obtained.