Abstract

Cr³⁺ -doped LiSrA1F₆ (Cr:LiSAF) and LiSrGaF₆ (Cr:LiSGaF) are especially attractive laser materials for the development of compact and robust ultrafast sources. They provide broad-band gain over a spectral region similar to Ti:sapphire (Ti:S) and are suitable for laser diode pumping. Kerr-lens mode-locked (KLM) Cr:LiSAF laser already allowed to realize pulses as short as 18 fs [1] whereas the Cr:LiSGaF laser has the advantage of substantially higher achievable output powers [2]. Recently, a novel "chirped mirror dispersion control” approach has been suggested and successfully realized in a Ti:S laser [3], allowing to produce stable, sub-10 fs pulses from a prismless Ar⁺-pumped oscillator [4]. The first prismless diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF laser based on a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (no KLM action) with Gires-Tournois (GT) coating was realized last year by Kopf et al. [5], producing 160 fs pulses at 25 mW output power, limited by the thermal damage of the semiconductor mirror.

© 1996 IEEE