2-GHz watt-level Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:KGW laser

Abstract

We report on a 2-GHz high-power Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:KGW laser pumped by a single-mode fiber laser. The output performance for two different output coupling rates was investigated. Stable bidirectional mode-locking operation at the repetition rate of 2.157 GHz was obtained with a 0.6% output coupler. The average output powers of bidirectional operation are 741 mW and 746 mW, with 123-fs and 126-fs pulse durations, respectively. By using a 1.6% output coupler, unidirectional mode-locking is achieved with 145-fs pulse duration and 1.7-W average output power, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the highest average power from Kerr-lens mode-locked GHz femtosecond oscillators.