Diode-pumped 188fs mode-locked Yb3+:Y2O3 ceramic laser

Abstract

The authors have demonstrated a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb3+:Y2O3 ceramic laser by use of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. 188fs pulses at a center wavelength of 1038nm are obtained. The maximum output power is 220mW at an absorbed pump power of 2.4W with a diffraction-limited beam quality (M2<1.1). This is the shortest pulse generation from Yb-doped sesquioxide lasers and ceramic lasers ever reported.