High-power 200 fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:YAG thin-disk oscillator

Abstract

We demonstrate a power-scalable Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:YAG thin-disk oscillator. It delivers 200 fs pulses at an average power of 17 W and a repetition rate of 40 MHz. At an increased (180 W) pump power level, the laser produces 270 fs 1.1 μJ pulses at an average power of 45 W (optical-to-optical efficiency of 25%). Semiconductor-saturable-absorber-mirror-assisted Kerr-lens mode locking (KLM) and pure KLM with a hard aperture show similar performance. To our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses achieved from a mode-locked Yb:YAG disk oscillator and this is the first demonstration of a Kerr-lens mode-locked thin-disk laser.