In this work, a passively mode-locked Yb:YGAG (Yb:Y₃Ga₂Al₃O₁₂) ceramic laser generating picosecond pulses at liquid-nitrogen temperature is demonstrated. The Yb:YGAG has a similar structure to Yb:YAG, but its emission bandwidth at cryogenic temperature remains much broader, which is advantageous for ultrashort pulse generation and amplification. Using this laser material, a stable train of pulses at a wavelength of 1026 nm was obtained, with measured pulse duration of 2.4 ps, which is more than four times shorter than that achieved with a cryogenically-cooled Yb:YAG.

Date Published: 27 April 2016
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9893, Laser Sources and Applications III, 98930B (27 April 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2227437

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9893:
Laser Sources and Applications III
Jacob I. Mackenzie; Helena JelÍnková; Takunori Taira; Marwan Abdou Ahmed, Editor(s)