Continuous-wave mode-locked 2- microm Tm: YAG laser.

Area of Science:

• Lasers and Photonics
• Solid-State Lasers
• Quantum Electronics

Background:

• Thulium-doped lasers (Tm: YAG) are crucial for generating mid-infrared radiation.
• Mode-locked operation enables the generation of ultrashort laser pulses.
• Achieving stable, high-quality pulses is essential for various scientific and industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate continuous-wave mode-locked operation of a Tm: YAG laser.
• To characterize the temporal and power output of the generated laser pulses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Tm: YAG crystal in a continuous-wave laser cavity.
• Implemented a mode-locking technique to generate ultrashort pulses.
• Measured pulse duration, repetition rate, and average output power.

Main Results:

• Successfully achieved stable continuous-wave mode-locked operation.
• Generated transform-limited pulses with a duration of 35 picoseconds.
• Obtained an average output power of 70 mW at a repetition rate of 300 MHz.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated the feasibility of generating high-quality ultrashort pulses from a Tm: YAG laser.
• The achieved pulse characteristics are suitable for applications requiring precise temporal resolution.
• This work contributes to the development of advanced laser sources in the mid-infrared spectrum.