Abstract

Previously we generated sub-100 fs pulses from a Cr:LiSAF laser using first a dye saturable absorber,² and then a MQW saturable absorber,³ to initiate KLM and achieve self-starting for only 500-mW-absorbed argon ion pump power. Now 670-nm diode-pumping of a truly continuous wave Cr:LiSAF laser, which tuned from 799 to 860 nm with a minimum threshold of 70 mW, has yielded up to 160 mW of output power with 1.5% output coupling. Full duty-cycle active mode-locking was demonstrated using an acousto-optic modulator which yielded~300 ps pulses.⁴ An all-solid-state passively mode-locked laser was demonstrated using RPM⁵ with the MQW absorber of reference.³ Stable, self-starting, c.w. mode-locked pulse trains at 250 MHz were observed which were as short as~60 ps duration, as measured using a sampling streak camera.⁴ When a standard four prism sequence was incorporated into the cavity, trains of pulses as short as 600 fs were measured using an SHG autocorrelator.

© 1994 IEEE