A. Aschwanden

60-W average power in 810-fs pulses from a thin-disk Yb:YAG laser.

We demonstrate a passively mode-locked diode-pumped thin-disk Yb:YAG laser generating 810-fs pulses at 1030 nm with as much as 60 W of average output power (without using an amplifier). At a pulse repetition rate of 34.3 MHz, the pulse energy is 1.75 microJ and the peak power is as high as 1.9 MW. The beam quality is close to the diffraction limit, with M2 < 1.1.

High-power passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers

We have developed optically pumped passively mode-locked vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers. We achieved as much as 950 mW of mode-locked average power in chirped 15-ps pulses, or 530 mW in 3.9-ps pulses with moderate chirp. Both lasers operate at a repetition rate of 6 GHz and have a diffraction-limited output beam near 950 nm. In continuous-wave operation, we demonstrate an average output power as high as 2.2 W. Device designs with a low thermal impedance and a smooth gain spectrum are the key to such performance. We discuss design and fabrication of the gain structures and, particularly, their thermal properties

2.1-W picosecond passively mode-locked external-cavity semiconductor laser

We demonstrate an optically pumped passively mode-locked external-cavity semiconductor laser generating 4.7-ps pulses at 957 nm with as much as 2.1 W of average output power and a 4-GHz repetition rate. Compared with earlier results, the chirp of the pulses has been greatly reduced by use of an intracavity etalon. Apart from restricting the bandwidth, the etalon also helps optimize wavelength-dependent gain parameters and dispersion.

Picosecond pulse sources with multi-GHz repetition rates and high output power

We review and compare several recently introduced approaches for the generation of picosecond pulse trains with multi-GHz repetition rates and relatively high average output power (up to several watts). Specifically, we consider passively mode-locked lasers with different gain media (Nd:YVO4, Er:Yb:glass, and surface-emitting semiconductor structures) as well as optical parametric oscillators.

60-W average power in 810-fs pulses from a thin-disk Yb:YAG laser

We demonstrate a passively mode-locked diode-pumped thin-disk Yb:YAG laser generating 810-fs pulses at 1030 nm with as much as 60 W of average output power (without using an amplifier). At a pulse repetition rate of 34.3 MHz, the pulse energy is 1.75 µJ and the peak power is as high as 1.9 MW. The beam quality is close to the diffraction limit, with M 2 < 1.1.

Passively Mode-Locked Surface-Emitting Semiconductor Lasers with High Repetition Rates of up to 30 GHz

We present high-repetition-rate passively mode-locked vertical external-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers with average output powers of 1.4 W in 6.1-ps pulses at 10 GHz and 25 mW in 4.7-ps pulses at 30 GHz.