Passively mode-locked color-center laser

Abstract

Passive mode locking of a cw (chopped) color-center laser using a saturable-absorber polymethine cyanine dye is reported for the first time to our knowledge. By employing the dye IR 140 for passive mode locking, we have obtained stable-output trains of pulses from a LiF:F(2)(+) laser at wavelengths around 870 nm. When the technique of colliding-pulse mode locking was implemented in a ring-cavity configuration, pulses having durations as short as 390 fsec were generated.