Low-repetition-rate femtosecond operation in extended-cavity mode-locked Yb:CALGO laser

Opt Lett. 2009 Jan 15;34(2):196-8. doi: 10.1364/ol.34.000196.

Abstract

We report on an extended-cavity mode-locked laser based on an Yb:CALGO crystal operating either at 27 MHz and 93 fs pulse duration or at 15 MHz and 170 fs duration single-pulse regime. To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of an extended-cavity oscillator based on Yb-doped crystal producing sub-100 fs pulses. The pulse energy was 24 nJ directly at the output of the oscillator (and 17 nJ after compression). Based on a similar design, we also demonstrate an unprecedented double-pulse dual-wavelength femtosecond regime. An explanation of this atypical regime is proposed.