High-efficiency diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser

Abstract

A highly efficient diode-end-pumped femtosecond Yb:yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic laser was demonstrated. Pumped by a 968 nm fiber-coupled diode laser, 1.9 W mode-locked output power at a repetition rate of 64.27 MHz was obtained with 3.5 W absorbed pump power, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 76%. Our measurement showed that the pulse duration was 418 fs with the central wavelength of 1048 nm.